My oh my, how I love thee. It’s rich. creamy. decadent. And packed with succulent crab meat. This has to be one of the most satisfying and delicious soups known to man. I’m talking 15 out of 10 would make this every single day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Weird? Maybe. The best decision ever? Undoubtedly.
The sous chef and I love seafood – but especially crab legs. And yet for some reason it’s one of those things we usually have on special occasions at my parents house (birthdays, etc.), and it never really dawned on us that we should make them at home (is FOMO for the last 5+ years possible? BRB, signing up for therapy). So while grocery shopping the other weekend, we noticed the crab legs, scratched whatever we were originally having for dinner off the list, and steamed these babies right up.
Now naturally, we bought five pounds of crab legs for the sous chef and I. It makes perfect sense if you don’t think about it. Nonetheless, about 3/4 of the way through devouring the salty, succulent crab legs, we were covered in clarified butter and probably had more crab on our clothes than we were getting in our mouths. And that’s when this glorious soup was born: we threw in the towel (i.e. immediately put our clothes in the washing machine) saved all of the crab shells, and de-shelled the remaining crab meat. The next day (and my friends, this is super ambitious, and not necessary – but if you have the time and energy, I would certainly encourage it) we made crab stock. We simmered the crab shells for about an hour with celery, carrots, onion, bay leaves, peppercorn, garlic, and fire-roasted diced tomatoes. Once cool, we refrigerated the stock, allowing the flavors to intensify overnight (you can 100% use store-bought seafood or crab stock).
Enter this soup: divine, salty, crabby goodness. The best kept secret about it? It comes together in, like, less than 45 minutes. And it’s perfection. It makes a stunning soup course, appetizer, even straight up dinner. I mean, this is what my soup dreams are made of – and it should be what yours are too (correction: it will be! Just as soon as you give this baby a whirl).
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
people
|
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 tablespoons butter divided
- 2 cups leeks white and light green parts only (~3 leeks)
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 cup carrots peeled and diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3/4 cup sherry
- 5 cups crab or seafood stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1.5 tablespoons old bay seasoning
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2/3 lb. lump crab meat coarsely chopped
- additional salt to taste
- chopped chives for garnish
Ingredients
|
|
- In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil and one tablespoon butter over medium heat. Once hot, add the leeks, celery, and carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until the vegetables begin to turn golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Add the garlic, and saute for an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Melt the two remaining tablespoons of butter in the pot. Whisk in the tomato paste, followed by the flour, stirring to incorporate for about 1-2 minutes. Add the sherry, deglazing the pan, scraping up any brown bits, and simmer for 20-30 seconds. Add the crab stock followed by the cream, whisking continuously for a smooth consistency. Stir in the old bay seasoning, paprika, pepper, and crab meat.
- Bring to a boil, and once boiling, reduce to simmer. Let simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the soup to thicken. Using an immersion blender, puree all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Our wine choice for pairing is the 2017 Harken Barrel Fermented Chardonnay. This full-bodied white has notes of toasted oak, butterscotch, and sweet pear - this is sure to complement our decadent crab bisque. Cheers!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on cnn. Regards