On our way to Maine this summer we stopped off for a few days at Block Island, a quaint island off the coast of Rhode Island. It is known for its fantastic chowders and bisques - both clam and lobster. In fact they have an annual chowder competition - that's how serious they are.
I tried several chowders and bisques, and certainly enjoyed them all very much. But none of them had the robust content of seafood I really crave. So when we arrived in Maine, I made it my own for the family, adding so much wonderful seafood from the Penobscot bay.
1 lb sea scallops
1 lb shrimp, peeled, shells reserved
1 lb haddock fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 lb monkfish, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 lb mussels
1 leek, cleaned and diced
2 Tbsp butter plus 2 Tbsp water
2 cloves garlic, minced
Béchamel sauce:
1/4 cup flour
3-4 Tbsp butter
2 cups heavy cream
1 bottle lobster or clam juice (I used lobster)
1 cup cream sherry
Garnish:
2 ripe tomatoes, diced and drained
palmful parsley leaves, chopped, for garnish
Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a large shallow covered pot. Place mussels in pot, cover, and steam a few minutes, until mussels open.
Strain mussels through a paper towel and collect strained juices; you’ll have about a cup. Cover mussels and set aside.
In the same pot, brown the shrimp shells in a dash of olive oil. Cook them for about 5 minutes until the shells darken and become very aromatic.
Pour the mussel water onto the shells and deglaze the pan. Strain the shells and collect the strained juice.
Set juice aside and discard shells.
Now in the same pot, melt the butter and sauté the leek, adding the water after the leek warm up in the butter. Cook until the water evaporates and then until the leek softens, about 10 minutes in total.
Add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes. Set leek aside in a bowl.
Reserve 18 of the best looking mussels (they will be used to garnish the dish - 3 per serving). Remove the remaining mussels from their shells. Discard shells.
In the same pan, fry the flour in the remaining butter for about 3-5 minutes. It should be creamy and bubbly; you should have a creamy consistency a bit thinner than peanut butter. Don’t allow the flour to brown; you want a whiter béchamel sauce. Now add the cream, lobster (or clam) juice, and sherry, whisking them into the flour mixture. Bring to a gentle boil to thicken. Whisk until smooth.
Now add the scallops, shrimp, haddock and monkfish to the béchamel sauce and bring to the slightest boil. Reduce heat and adjust thickness of the bisque with mi if it remains too thick, but likely the juices from the seafood should thin the béchamel enough. Return the mussels to the bisque and heat through.
Evenly distribute the bisque about 6-8 large shallow bowls. Top each serving with three unshelled mussels, and garnish with the tomatoes and parsley.
Serves 6-8.
Cook’s note - some people do not like tomatoes (I know - how’s that?!) so the tomatoes are optional.
You can substitute any nice fresh fish or shellfish for the seafood I use here, according to your preferences.
The Penobscott Bay from Mount Batty, Maine
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