She-Crab Soup
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup minced yellow onion
1/3 cup minced celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp ground mace
2 cups whole milk
1 cup chicken stock or seafood stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp Louisiana-style hot sauce, such as Louisiana Hot Sauce or Texas Pete
1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cups fresh blue crab, picked through and chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1/4 cup minced scallions, white and green parts
1 tsp smoked paprika
Fino sherry
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup minced yellow onion
1/3 cup minced celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp ground mace
2 cups whole milk
1 cup chicken stock or seafood stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp Louisiana-style hot sauce, such as Louisiana Hot Sauce or Texas Pete
1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cups fresh blue crab, picked through and chopped
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1/4 cup minced scallions, white and green parts
1 tsp smoked paprika
Fino sherry
Melt the butter in a medium-size soup pot over medium heat. When the butter bubbles and froths, whisk in the flour and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon. The color will have gone from white to blonde. You now have a blonde roux. Stir in the onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, and mace, and cook for 1 minute. Add the milk, stock, cream, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the crab and simmer for another 20 minutes.
Pour the soup into 6 bowls and garnish with the hard-boiled egg, scallions, and a pinch of smoked paprika. Serve with a shot of fino sherry, which can be poured into the soup or sipped on the side. 6 servings.
From A New Turn In The South By Hugh Acheson
Cucina Magia 