Recipe: Gluten-Free Crab Bisque

We were snowed in over the weekend in Atlanta and it was freezing cold. With the wind chill it felt like it was zero outside, which is not normal here to say the least. To stay as warm as possible we stayed in and enjoyed some great gluten-free meals. I made one of our favorite soups, Crab Bisque, which calls for flour. We used Jules gluten-free flour which works well in most any gluten recipe. The company sent me a bag of their excellent flour. The bisque made with Jules gluten-free flour was one of the best I’ve made. The flour created a perfect rue, just as if I’d used wheat flour in the pan.

Since we finally found the Blue Horizon Organic gluten-free appetizers at Super Target, we had the Fish & Chip Bites with our soup instead of corn muffins. To include something healthy, we had a nice green salad as well. The Fish & Chip Bites were excellent and we’ll be trying the Crab Cake Bites soon. Each of the four options are $4.99 at Target in Atlanta. They are in the health food freezer which is not with the other frozen food. Please note if you find one of these products with malt listed in the ingredients, the malt is made from corn. The products are tested by a third party to ensure they are gluten-free. So many consumers were concerned over the term malt on the label that the company switched from corn malt vinegar to apple cider vinegar in August 2009.

Gluten-Free Crab Bisque

Ingredients: 

• 2 tablespoons gluten-free flour blend (plain rice or bean flours will work here)
• 2 tablespoons butter (I use unsalted)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper (or to taste)
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder (low sodium version is best)
• 6 tablespoons minced green onions
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1/2 cup skim milk (use 1 cup for thinner bisque)
• 1 pound fresh crab meat (or two cans of crab meat – use one can for budget friendly dish)
• 1/2 cup cooking Sherry

Directions:

• In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter and stir in flour, white pepper, salt, chicken bouillon powder and 4 tablespoons of the minced onions.
• Turn heat up to medium and stir occasionally until soup thickens.
• Add remainder of combined milks and the crab.
• When soup reaches desired thickness, add Sherry and stir, cook one minute and remove from heat.
• Garnish with remaining minced onions.
• Serve with green salad and Pamela’s corn muffins.

This isn’t the healthiest soup in the world but it is one of the best we make at home. Since gluten-free soup is fairly difficult to find when dining out, we have a lot of soup in the winter at home. For the best ready-made frozen soups, check out Kettle Cuisine. All ten flavors are gluten-free and several are dairy free as well.

Progresso has several gluten-free options now and they are finally labeled as such. Check the listings on the new Live gluten-freely website. Please note that there are a couple of soups missing from the list on that site. The Chicken Rice with Vegetables soup (not to be confused with Chicken with Wild Rice) is clearly labeled gluten-free.