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Nabila's Spicy Shrimp and Vegetable Bisque

Wednesday, October 26th, 2016

Spicy Shrimp & Vegetable Bisque


Nabila made this bisque during this year's sacred music festival, and seems to have kept the recipe under wraps until the landladies, twin sisters Anne & Tessa, made their annual pilgrimage from Versailles and Cape Town. It was zesty in ways I hadn't often tasted in other Moroccan dishes, maybe because the turmeric and ginger were unmitigated by earthier spices, like cumin and paprika, which are absent from this recipe. 

American palates, once bland but now well-seasoned by Mexican, Thai, and Szechuan food, and blasted by habanero and scotch bonnett peppers, have become jaded. In their chest-thumping, competitive quest for the stratospheric reaches of the Scoville Scale--a fool's errand, as the acidic peppers dominate other flavors--Americans overlook the subtleties of mid-range seasonings, all staples of Moroccan cooking. 

I asked Nabila to make it one last time before I moved to Agadir, but forgot to buy a couple of the ingredients and used calamari instead of shrimp, which was a bit of a mistake. It turned out delicious anyway, although the kitchen reeked of squid for days. I was a little mortified, but altogether satisfied. Bissahawaraha!

Ingredients for about 10-12 servings                             

  • 1/2 small white cabbage or cauliflower (cheffleur)     
  • 1 red (or green) bell peppers (flfla hlou)                      
  • 2 long red chili peppers (mzawid aHmar)                    
  • 2-3 small red chilis (flfla Har)                                       
  • 1 large tomato (mtaysha)                                                   
  • 1 potatoes (batatas)                                                       
  • 1-2 large carrots (kheezu)                                                    
  • 2 small parsnips (lfte)  or 1/2 a large one   
  • 2 zucchini or yellow squash (kra' khadra)                    
  • 1 & 1/2 red or yellow onions (basla)                                
  • 2 large cloves garlic (thumma)            
  • 1/2 bunch each of cilantro and parsley    
  • 1/2 stick of butter (zebda)
  • 1/4 c. Flour (furS) 
  • 1/4 c. olive oil (zayt zaytoun)         
  • 1 large Knorr fish bouillon cubes (knour)    
  • 2 tsp. salt (melH)   
  • 2 tsp. black pepper (bzar)  
  • 2 tsp. ginger (skinjbir)    
  • 2 tsp. turmeric (kharqum) 
  • 2  liters water for cooking   
  • 3/4 kg., or a little over 1.5 lbs. shrimp, peeled and chopped, and seasoned with lemon juice (or mix/substitute with squid, scallops, or cuttlefish)                                                                    
  • 1 cup container creme fraiche
  • Brandy, sherry, or pastis (about 2-3 tbsp., optional)    (1-2 tbsp)



Directions:

Chop the vegetables into bite-sized chunks.
Finely chop the garlic and the parsley and cilantro.
Make a roux of the butter and flour.
Put the ingredients in a pressure cooker and add the olive oil, butter, bouillon and spices, and 2.5 liters of water.                     


Bring to boil, cover, lower the heat, and cook under high pressure for 1/2 hour, then remove.


Puree using a hand blender or countertop blender.




Add the shrimp or calamari, and boil approximately 4-8 minutes depending on the size of the shrimp.



Add the liqueurs and boil another minute or two.
Add half the container of  the creme fraiche, heat, stir, and serve with crackers (saltines or oyster crackers)--drizzle a little creme fraiche on each bowlful with maybe a pinch of cayenne or sumac.







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