CRAB PICKER'S CRAB SOUP
Crab soups are one of my favorite foods. While working on my last book, The Chesapeake Bay Waterside Dining Guide, I found my way to 212 restaurants and had crab soup in most of them. This recipe is rich and creamy and is traditionally reserved for more formal dinners, but I can eat it any time of day!
- 1 onion diced
- 1/4 cup diced celery
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 quart milk
- 1 pint light cream
- 3 cups canned tomatoes
- pinch of baking soda
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pound crabmeat
- seafood seasoning
- 1/4 cup sherry
Combine onion and celery in a 2-quart saucepan with butter; cook until soft. Remove from heat and stir in flour smoothly. Return pan to heat and add milk a little at a time, stirring and cooking until the mixture thickens. Add cream a little at a time, stirring consantly. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes., continuing to stir. Strain tomatoes through a sieve into a bowl, add baking soda mix, stir into the cream sauce, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add crabmeat and seafood seasoning. Reheat slowly, stirring and adding sherry.
Serves 4 to 6.
Best Ever Crab Cake
- 2 - 4 tablespoons cracker crumbs
- 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
- Cajun seasoning or paprika
- 1 pound lump crabmeat
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
- dash of Tabasco sauce
- Lemon Butter Parsley Sauce (recipe follows)
Mix the cracker crumbs, green onions and a dash of Cajun seasoning or paprika. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the crabmeat, sour cream, Worchestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce. Form the mixture into six crab cakes and place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with vegetable cooking spray or very lightly oiled. Sprinkle crab cakes with additional Cajun seasoning or paprika and bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 400 °F. Top each serving with Lemon Butter Parslet Sauce.
Lemon Butter Parsley Sauce:
- 1 stick butter
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon white wine
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- dash of Tabasco sauce
- dash of Worchestershire sauce
Melt butter in saucepan and mix in parsley, lemon juice, white wine, salt, pepper, Tabasco sauce and Worchestershire sauce. Simmer briefly over low heat.
Serves 6.
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