Oyster Bisque

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup celery, minced
• 1/4 cup shallot, minced
• 1 quart oyster, liquid from, strained
• 5 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 cup milk, simmering
• 1 quart oyster, shucked
• to taste salt and pepper
• to taste paprika

Recipe

• 1 melt butter in a heavy kettle. add the celery and shallots.
• 2 cook, stirring, for 10 minutes over moderately low heat until vegetables are soft. pour in the strained liquid, milk and cream.
• 3 bring the mixture to a simmer.
• 4 (do not boil.) beat the egg yolks lightly in a small bowl.
• 5 whisk the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks; stir the milk-egg mixture into the kettle. add the oysters, salt and pepper.
• 6 simmer, stirring, until bisque is lightly thickened, and the edges of the oyste rs have curled.
• 7 do not let the bisque come to a boil.
• 8 transfer to a heated soup tureen and sprinkle with the paprika.