Fish and seafood

Creme de marisco

Velvety cream of seafood, vegetables and aromatic broth, ideal as a special starter.

RegionPortuguese coast
DifficultyMedium
Total time1 hour 15 minutes
Servings6 servings
Photo of Creme de marisco — traditional Portuguese recipe
Photo of the traditional Portuguese recipe.

Editorial content from Empório Portugal. Traditional recipes may vary by region, family and cook.

About the recipe

Creme de marisco is an elegant starter with coastal flavour and a smooth texture.

The base is built from the shrimp shells, vegetables and a well-reduced stock, transforming simple ingredients into a fragrant cream.

Ingredients

  • 500 g shell-on shrimp
  • 200 g of cleaned mussels or shellfish
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 1 chopped carrot
  • 1 ripe tomato
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 1 liter of water or broth
  • Coriander or parsley

Method

  1. Cook the shrimp briefly, remove the meat and reserve the shells for the stock.
  2. Sauté the shrimp shells, onions, carrots, garlic and tomatoes in olive oil.
  3. Cover with water and cook to extract flavour.
  4. Strain the broth and return to the pan.
  5. Thicken with the dissolved flour and blend until smooth.
  6. Add chopped shellfish and shrimp, heating without boiling too much.

Tips from Empório Portugal

  • The flavour comes from the stock made with the shrimp shells; do not skip this step.
  • Strain well to avoid residue.
  • Shrimp should only return to the cream at the end.

Possible substitutions in Brazil

  • Use medium Brazilian shrimp with shell.
  • Mussels can be replaced with squid in small pieces.

Pairing

A coastal Portuguese white wine, Vinho Verde or sparkling water. Content intended for people over 18 years of age. Drink in moderation.

Editorial note from Empório Portugal

This recipe is part of the editorial curation of Empório Portugal, developed from Portuguese culinary tradition. Like every traditional recipe, it may vary by region, family and cook.

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Send it to the Empório Portugal community. Submitted recipes are reviewed before any publication.

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Quick facts

Prep
30 min
Cooking
45 min
Total time
1 hour 15 minutes
Yield
6 servings
Difficulty
Medium
Occasion
Special starter, weekend dinner

Pairing

A coastal Portuguese white wine, Vinho Verde or sparkling water. Content intended for people over 18 years of age. Drink in moderation.

Empório tip

The flavour comes from the stock made with the shrimp shells; do not skip this step.

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