Recipe: Spot Prawn Bisque with Quenelles

Serves 6

Once captured, spot prawns must be kept alive or eaten quickly because, like crabs and lobsters, they immediately begin to deteriorate when they die. Live spot prawns are only available from May through late July or early August.

For the Soup

The heads and shells from 18 large spot prawns, preferably live

¼ cup olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1 medium shallot, peeled and thinly sliced

1 sprig of fresh thyme, or a pinch of dried thyme leaves

4 sprigs of wild fennel or fresh basil leaves

6 small vine-ripened tomatoes (about 1 pound), roughly chopped

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream, preferably organic

2 tablespoons Pernod, optional

1 cup boiling water

For the quenelles

The peeled tails from 18 large spot prawns

1 egg white

½ cup heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Shredded basil leaves or fennel fronds for garnish

1 quart water

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1. Pull the heads from 18 live spot prawns and peel the tails. Put the tail meat aside for the quenelles and save the heads and shells for the soup.

2. To make the soup: Warm the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and sauté the onion and a shallot until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the heads and shells of the spot prawns along with the thyme, a few basil leaves or fennel sprigs and the chopped tomatoes. Continue to sauté until the tomatoes are heated through, then pour on the cream and the Pernod if desired. Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the soup to cook while you make the mousse for the quenelles, about 15 minutes.

3. To make the quenelles: Put the peeled tails in a food processor with the egg white, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg and puree until the mixture becomes a smooth mousse. Put the mousse in a small mixing bowl.

4. Strain the soup into a clean saucepan and put the solids in a food processor with the cup of boiling water. Pulse the motor on and off until the cooked shrimp heads are almost pureed, then strain the purée into the saucepan with the rest of the soup and discard the remaining solids. Keep the soup warm while you cook the quenelles.

5. To cook the quenelles, put the quart of water with the vinegar and salt over high heat and bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium to keep the water gently boiling. With a wet tablespoon, shape the shrimp mousse into 6 oval-shaped dumplings, dropping them into the water as they are formed. Poach the quenelles until they float to the top and are barely cooked through, about 3 minutes.

6. Distribute the soup evenly in six shallow soup bowls and plant a poached quenelle in the middle of each bowl. Garnish each serving with a few fronds of fennel or shredded basil leaves.