I love days off don’t you? I slept in until 9:30, stretching out on the bed while the kittens pounced around me and soft sunbeams streamed through the sheer curtains.
Later that afternoon, my boyfriend and I took a walk along the ocean. Back home and chilled from the winter outside, we immediately lit the fireplace. I especially enjoy winter cooking, being a creature of mundane comforts and what more comforting than soup when the forecast calls for snow.
My boyfriend travels by floatplane up north in late Summer each year to fish. Our freezer is always stocked and with the amount of salmon he brings home I have to get creative by preparing it in different ways. This bisque is really tasty and relatively simple to make. I hope you will give it a try.
*below my recipes and menu plan folder
You will need:
- 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
- 1 cups thinly sliced leeks
- 1/2 chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 quart (32 oz) clam juice
- 3/4 pounds salmon fillet, chopped 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 to 4 ounces smoked salmon (depending on how strong a smoked flavor you want, and how strongly smoked the salmon is), chopped
- 2 cups canned or stewed tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
- 1 cup cream
- 1 cup milk
- Pinch black pepper
- Pinch crushed red pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning (optional)
- Salt to taste
Melt butter in a medium stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, leeks, mushrooms, garlic and cook until onions are translucent and mushrooms have given up their moisture (7 to 10 minutes).
2 Add the clam juice, smoked salmon, tomatoes (break up tomatoes while putting them in the soup), parsley, cilantro, dill, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and Old Bay seasoning; cook until heated through.
3 Put flour into a separate bowl. Slowly add the milk, beating with a wire whisk until smooth. Mix in the cream.
4 Stir cream & flour mixture into the soup. Stir in fresh salmon and simmer for 5 more minutes. If you want, use an immersion blender to purée the soup, or pour some or all of the soup into a standing blender and purée. Salt to taste.
I like to make our meals special on my days off. Cooking is very relaxing to me and having the time to do so is such a pleasure. To accompany the bisque, I made an organic greens and herbs salad and put a small charcuterie board together.
Keep warm friends.
Love,
Jennifer
