Friday night supper: Spicy Seafood Soup

I made this delicious seafood soup for dinner on Friday. The original recipe comes from an old issue of Taste of Home magazine under the name Spicy Seafood Bisque. Don't let the name fool you. This is not a creamy, pureed soup. It's anything but so I changed the name of my ramped up version of this soup to Spicy Seafood Soup.

I didn't make any changes to the base of this recipe which is the broth. The broth is flavorful and bold and packs a punch.

Make it for yourself, make it for your family, or double the recipe for a party. I've prepared it on the stove top and served it from a crockpot. It is a great way to keep the soup hot while entertaining.

Spicy Seafood Soup

Follow original recipe for Spicy Seafood Bisque making the following changes:

Add more onions and celery. I dice 2 medium onions and 1 large celery stalk + extra celery leaves

Crab meat: I increase the amount of crab meat and use a 16 oz can of fresh crab claw meat. I paid about $9. It's located in the refrigerated section near the seafood counter.

Add more seafood: I like to add scallops, oysters, clams or mussels or a combination of them. I always like to use fresh seafood when available but sometimes the fish is not available or just too expensive. In yesterday's batch I added a 10oz can of whole baby clams and an 8 oz can of oysters (regular, not smoked). Add the canned seafood with the liquid from the can.

Pasta: I increase the amount of pasta to 3/4 of a cup. I always use ditalini which is a small tube-shaped pasta.

Come to the table hungry. Grab a fresh loaf of Italian bread, get out the napkins and pour yourself a glass of wine.

And grab seconds while you can. There won't be any left.