Shrimp Bisque for a Cold Day

My parents' house is colder than my apartment, mainly because I don't have to pay for heat. I was visiting them for the day, and we were trying to figure out what to have for dinner. I remembered the shrimp bisque that JB from Urban Drivel had posted a few weeks ago on another particularly cold day.

Note, though, that my recipe is different than the original, due largely to my misreading the amount of clam juice needed. My bisque ended up being very thick (but still delicious), and the recipe below is what I ended up making. My father made his famous popover, which were the perfect accompaniment to the soup.

Shrimp Bisque

4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 lbs medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, shells reserved
2 onions, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 tbsp all purpose flour
6 tbsp tomato paste
2 (8-oz) bottles clam juice
2 cups white wine
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add reserved shrimp shells and cook until spotty brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in onion, celery, and carrots and cook until beginning to soften, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add clam juice, wine and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.

Pour broth through a fine mesh strainer into a large saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract juices. Discard solids in the strainer.

Bring broth to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the shrimp and cream and milk and simmer until the shrimp are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

*Alternate title for any shrimp-related post: "Why do you always have to de-turd these things?"