Recipe: Tomato and Crab Soup
Tomato, crab, fennel and garlic merge together to make a comforting fall stew that is sure to comfort when the time arises.
This is when I take the liberty to congratulate and pat myself on the back for a job well done. I had everything on hand to make this stew on a whim and it most certainly came in handy when the beaux and I were in need of a late night/early morning nibble. Beside this stew being perfect for cool fall nights the part that makes it most decadent is the stack of crab that tops it off.
This recipe is one that I have adapted from the Saveur website. It utilizes leeks, so if you are not familiar with them then you can take a read on how to select, store and prepare them here. And to see how to handle them in real time check out this video.
TOMATO AND CRAB SOUP
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup EVOO
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups organic chicken stock
1 small can tomato paste
4 large tomato, peeled and chopped
1 shallot, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 large fennel, thinly sliced (reserve fronds)
3 stalks of organic celery, finely sliced
1 bay leaf
ground pepper, freshly ground
salt, to taste
onion powder, to taste
Mrs. Dash- original seasoning, 2 tablespoons
Snow crab, 2 lbs of legs, or 3 cups roughly chopped
DIRECTIONS // ÈTAPES
Heat a medium stew pot and the EVOO at a low temperature until warm.
While pot is warming, you should finely chop the fennel, celery, garlic and shallot. Once warm place the above into the pot and a sauté until golden brown. Season with pepper, salt, onion powder and Mrs. Dash and add bay leaf.
Once golden and translucent add white wine and continuously stir for 2-3 minutes. At this point add tomatoes and stock until boiling. Reduce the heat and allow stew to thicken. This will take 25-35 minutes. If using crab legs stir into stew at this point. Remove bay leaf and remove from heat.
Using a soup ladle spoon soup into four bowls. Top with additional salt and pepper to taste and garnish with chopped crab and fennel fonds.
My suggestion for you is that you prepare this dish and store it in a glass container in your refrigerator for up to four days. It is a wonderful dish to have on hand when in a pinch or for a late-night snack. I believe that what makes this dish so superb is that it utilizes seasonal produce in its state of ultimate freshness, which is, in our opinion here at Curated Health, the most luxurious way to health.
Enjoy! à vôtre santé!
