Saffron Mussel Bisque

Rating: 4.77 stars
13 Ratings
  • 5 star values: 10
  • 4 star values: 3
  • 3 star values: 0
  • 2 star values: 0
  • 1 star values: 0

Ahoy! All seafood lovers will really enjoy this hearty feast. Garnish with fresh parsley.

By MARBALET
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Ingredients

6
Original recipe yields 6 servings
The ingredient list now reflects the servings specified

Directions

  • Place saffron threads in a small bowl, and cover with 1 tablespoon boiling water. Set aside.

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  • Scrub mussels clean in several changes of fresh water and pull off beards. Discard any mussels that are cracked or do not close tightly when tapped. Put mussels into a saucepan with wine and water. Cover and cook over high heat, shaking pan frequently, 6-7 minutes or until shells open. Remove mussels, discarding any which remain closed. Strain liquid through a fine sieve and reserve.

  • Heat butter and oil in a saucepan. Add onion, garlic, leek and fenugreek and cook gently 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add saffron mixture, 2-1/2 cups of reserved cooking liquid and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes.

  • Meanwhile, keep 8 mussels in shells and remove remaining mussels from shells. Add all mussels to soup and stir in chopped parsley, salt, pepper and cream. Heat through 2-3 minutes. Garnish with parsley sprigs, if desired, and serve hot.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:
205.1 calories; 9.7 g protein; 9 g carbohydrates; 27 mg cholesterol; 343.1 mg sodium. Full Nutrition

Reviews (11)

Read More Reviews

Most helpful positive review

Tamic
Rating: 5 stars
08/14/2011
Best soup Ive ever had! I added a cup of chopped celery in with onion and leek. Put minced garlic in when steaming the mussels I also used a cup of clam juice and only a half a cup of chicken broth. Oh and last but not least a table spoon of red wine vinegar at the end. Trust me it makes all the difference. Read More
Helpful
(14)
13 Ratings
  • 5 star values: 10
  • 4 star values: 3
  • 3 star values: 0
  • 2 star values: 0
  • 1 star values: 0
Reviews:
Most Helpful Most Positive Least Positive Newest
Tamic
Rating: 5 stars
08/14/2011
Best soup Ive ever had! I added a cup of chopped celery in with onion and leek. Put minced garlic in when steaming the mussels I also used a cup of clam juice and only a half a cup of chicken broth. Oh and last but not least a table spoon of red wine vinegar at the end. Trust me it makes all the difference. Read More
Helpful
(14)
Anonymous
Rating: 5 stars
12/21/2011
I made this on the spur of the moment so picked up a package of Wholey frozen mussels (1lb) already cleaned and pre-cooked. I simply put the frozen block of mussles in a skillet and heated to release the broth they were frozen in strained that liquid and reserved. Much easier! I add about a cup of carrot cut in bite sized pieces to the leek onion garlic since I had fewer mussles. Rather than whipping cream I used fat-free half & half because I had that on hand. This was a huge hit! So good relatively easy served with warmed French bread YUM! I think it's a pretty versitile recipe and you really can't go wrong with little changes. Thanks! I'll be making this A LOT! Read More
Helpful
(12)
Aja
Rating: 5 stars
04/02/2014
Decided to give this bisque a try and I loved it! The onion-y flavor from the leeks and the fenugreek spice paired very nicely with the mussels. My change to the recipe was using coconut milk instead of heavy cream due to forgetting to buy it. I think it only aided in the flavoring of the bisque. My biggest regret is not buying a baguette to glob up all of that delicious sauce! Read More
Helpful
(3)
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Debbie Plummer
Rating: 5 stars
10/04/2019
Made this and my family and I couldn’t get enough of it. Shared a little with some co-workers and now everyone at work is asking for the recipe. Huge hit with everyone. My family asked for it two weeks in a row. Read More
Josephine Roeper
Rating: 4 stars
04/14/2014
Ok. Wasn't too thrilled. Read More
Brandace Tue
Rating: 5 stars
07/05/2017
I made mine with added chorizo and collard greens..... delicious Read More
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Chrsgls
Rating: 5 stars
01/05/2015
Straightforward and excellent. I added a little garlic powder during the step 1 (cooking the mussels in the diluted wine). I used a sweeter German white wine and it was good though I suspect it would be better with a chardonnay pinot grigio torrontes etc. My saffron was a little old so I added a few extra strands--I think this was quite important to get the color and flavor profile correct--and the fenugreek was a perfect complement to the saffron. Thanks for this recipe; I will ABSOLULTEY make it again. Read More
Cara
Rating: 5 stars
05/16/2017
I didn't have all of the fancy spices because I'm on a tight budget; I only used garlic butter olive oil heavy cream onions and of course mussels. It still turned out AMAZING. Absolutely delicious. Read More
CarolynCooks
Rating: 5 stars
05/16/2016
Wow this is so amazing! I can't shut up about how much I enjoyed this. It was worth an extra trip out to get saffron. I used shallot instead of leek. I also omitted the water because I wanted it to be more like a sauce. There was still plenty of liquid. I also used 1/4 tsp curry powder because I was out of fenugreek. It didn't taste like curry. It just added to the aroma and depth of flavor. I got lovely mussels from Prince Edward Island and they were delicious. I think this should be served right away because when I went back for seconds the mussels had become a bit mushy. I can't wait to share this recipe with my family. This would also be good with a dry vermouth instead of wine. Read More
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