See Also: Shore-Crab Bisque(recipes)
Crab and ginger saffron ravioli with a lobster bisque sauce(recipes)
Crisp soft shell crab, crab salad and tandoor smoked spicy salmon mousse(recipes)
Herbal medicine (botanical medicine, herbology, phytomedicine)(health)
bisque(medicine)
bisque(dictionary)
bisque(1)(dictionary)
Bisque(recipes)
bisque(dictionary)
bisque(2)(dictionary)

leptandra (medicine) and Shore-Crab Bisque (recipes)


leptandra (medicine)


leptandra
<botany> Dried rhizome and roots of Veronicastrum virginicum (family Serophulariaceae). Indigenous to North America. Formerly used as a cathartic.

Synonym: black root, Culver's root.


Shore-Crab Bisque (recipes)






Serves 4



Preparation time

30 mins to 1 hour



Cooking time

30 mins to 1 hour

















Ingredients



900g/2lb shore crabs or Other shellfish50g/2oz butter50g/2oz onion,chopped50g/2oz carrot, chopped50g/2oz celery, chopped1 fresh or dried bay leaf2 tbsp cognac4 tomatoes1 tsp tomato purée85ml/3fl oz dry white wine1 good-sized sprig of fresh tarragon1.75l/3pt fish stock50ml/2fl oz double creama pinch of cayenne pepperjuice of ¼ lemonsalt and freshly ground black pepper



Method



1. Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil, drop in the crabs then bring them back to the boil and cook for 2 minutes. Strain and let the crabs cool a little, then chop with a large knife.2. Melt the butter in a heavy-based pan and add the chopped onion, carrot, celery and the bay leaf. Cook without browning. Stir once or twice then add the crab. Stir, then add the cognac. Allow to boil off then add the tomatoes, tomato purée, Wine, tarragon and stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.3. Remove the tough claw shells from the soup before liquidizing in a liquidizer or Food processor in two or three batches. Process in short bursts until the shell is broken into small pieces about the size of your finger nail. Avoid producing puréed shell, the aim is to extract all possible flavour from any meat left sticking to the shell, particularly in the body section, rather than to extract flavour from the shell itself. Strain the soup through a conical strainer pushing as much liquid through as you can with the back of a ladle to extract all the juices. Then, pass the soup through a fine strainer before returning to the heat. Bring to the boil, add the cream then season with cayenne pepper, lemon juice, salt and black pepper. Reduce the volume by simmering if you think the flavour needs concentrating.