Chunky Creamy Crawfish Bisque

When this month's Louisiana Cookin' magazine arrived, this recipe caught my attention immediately. I added about a half a cup of chopped shrimp and didn't add any of the Italian cheese the recipe called for on this photo op. However, Sweet Harold added it to his bowl and loved it. And no, I have no idea how they rationalize that something can be both chunky and creamy.  

If there had been any left, I was planning on serving over rice. But alas, the two of us will be fighting over the meager 1/2 cup which was left.  es, it was that great. 

4 T. extra virgin olive oil

2/3 cup chopped onion, celery, green bell pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup finely diced portabella mushrooms

1 can cream of shrimp soup

1 pound Louisiana crawfish tails

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

2 t. seafood seasoning

6 T. unsalted butter, cut into pats

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced (for garnish)

2 cups Italian shredded 6 cheese blend

In a medium Dutch oven, heat the olive oil on high until it just begins to smoke.  Then drop in the onion mix and saute, stirring constantly, until it wilts and begins to soften.

Next, toss in mushrooms and quickly stir them around in the seasoning mixture. Then stir in the can of undiluted soup, taking care to thoroughly mix all the ingredients into uniformly blended.

At this point, drop in the crawfish tails along with the heavy cream and stir until all the ingredients are completely blended. Immediately reduce the heat to medium low and stir bisque continuously to fully blend cream. Sprinkle in the salt, pepper and the seafood seasoning and simmer 8 - 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

When you're ready to serve, whisk in the butter pats to create a creamy consistency, ladle out generous portions into warm soup bowls and garnish with green onions and a handful of shredded cheese.