The biggest sin is to have shrimp and not make soup on the shell! This soup is easy to make, and you can enjoy it fairly immediately – but if you let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours, it will taste even better.
We ate lots of shrimp when we celebrated midsummer on the 25th of June here in Sweden, and I just had to make shrimp soup. I bought 1500 grams (3 pounds) of smoked prawns and saved some prawns and the peel for the soup. If you like the taste of smoke, you can add a slight smoke aroma to the soup, but be careful; it can quickly become too much! The soup itself is quick and straightforward to make, but if you want the soup to have a lot of flavor from the prawns, you should let the soup soak for about 24 hours in the fridge; believe me, it tastes much better if you do that.
The base is simple; you start with a mirepoix which consists of well-chopped onions, carrots, and celery stalks. I also add well-chopped fennel, which is incredibly good for both fish and shrimp soup. White wine and cream balance the soup well. The spices are simple – you can exclude what you do not like.
You can save some shrimp and chop to have in the soup, or you can skip it. But it would be a shame not to save a couple of shrimps for garnish.
You must taste during cooking and correct the seasoning to suit you. If you want more “heat,” you can, for example, increase the amount of sambal oelek
I also use cornstarch to make the soup a little thicker – you can skip it if you like a little thinner soup.
Freeze the shells if you want to make the soup later – pack it properly – otherwise, everything in your freezer will taste like prawns😊
Ingredients for 4 servings
1 kilo of shrimp shells (approx.)
1 yellow onion (1.5 dl chopped onions)
3 – 4 stalks celery (1.5 dl pre-chopped celery stalks)
1 large carrot (1.5 dl pre-chopped carrot)
1 small fennel (1 dl pre-chopped fennel)
200 grams of pre-peeled shrimp that you chop to have in the soup.
The spices
1.5 tsp salt (take a little at a time)
0.5 tsp black or white pepper (take a little at a time)
0.5 tsp turmeric
0,5 tsp grind cumin
1 tsp sambal oelek
Liquid:
6 dl fish broth (dissolve 2 fish broths in 6 dl boiling water)
2 – 2.5 dl white wine
2 Tbsp tomato paste
5 dl whipping cream
0.5 dl cognac (can be excluded)
Roux:
4 tsp cornstarch
4 tsp cold water
Garnish:
Peeled shrimps
Dill, parsley, basil, or other herbs that you prefer
Method:
- Wash, peel, and chop the vegetables.
- Peel the prawns – set aside a few prawns per person for garnish.
- Chop about 200 grams of peeled shrimp to have in the soup – (can be excluded)
- Dissolve 2 fish bouillon in 6 dl of boiling water – set aside.
- Measure out spices, white wine, and cream.
- Heat a large frying pan or a wok pan (reasonably high heat) with a bit of oil in it.
- Pour in the chopped vegetables and fry for about 5 – 6 minutes.
- Then transfer it to a large saucepan.
- Pour a little more oil into the same frying pan and add the shrimp shells to be fried for 5 – 6 minutes.
- Also, transfer the shrimp shells to the large saucepan with the vegetables and fry everything together for another 5 – 6 minutes.
- Add 0.5 tsp turmeric and stir.
- Add both the wine and the broth and stir. Feel free to poke the shells down so that the liquid covers them in the soup.
- Bring to the boil, add 2 Tbsp tomato puree, mix well.
- When the soup starts to boil again, lower the heat and simmer under a lid for about 15 – 20 minutes.
- Add the cream and all the spices, stirring to mix everything well.
- Remove the soup from the stove and cool slightly before putting it in the fridge – the soup will be much tastier if it is allowed to rest for about 24 hours in the refrigerator. Take out the soup – heat it a bit before you strain it. Let it drain well,
- Shake the colander a few times.
- Heat the soup, taste, and add more spices if needed. For example, if you want more heat in the soup, add more ground cumin or sambal oelek.
- Add cognac and stir.
- Mix 4 teaspoons cornstarch with 4 teaspoons cold water (the roux) and pour it into the soup while stirring. Let it all boil for a few minutes.
- Add the chopped prawns and let everything get hot.
Pour the soup into serving dishes and garnish with whole prawns, dill, or other herbs that you prefer.
Serve with some tasty bread. For example, garlic bread or sandwiches with homemade shrimp cheese! So delicious, I promise!
Enjoy!
