Sunday, October 17, 2010

Simple Cream of Crab Soup

Simple Cream of Crab Soup

I made this simple Cream of Crab Soup on Friday afternoon with the intention of serving it as a first course to our Braised Beef Short Ribs. After giving it more thought, I determined the soup was way too rich and delicious to precede an equally decadent dinner!

Plan B - Sunday Game Day!

The weekend festivities continue!  This Crab Soup has found its way to our game day spread!

May all your teams win today...unless they're playing one of mine! ;)

Simple Cream of Crab Soup


1 lb. crab meat, picked of shells (here I used Claw Meat as it's way easier on the wallet!)
1 shallot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
1/2 stick butter
1/3 cup flour
8 oz. clam juice
1 cup light cream
1 cup 1% milk (*plus 2 cups 1% milk)
1 tsp. Old Bay
1/2 tsp. fresh chopped thyme

In heavy stock pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add shallot and celery. Saute up until soft, about 4-5 minutes. Add flour and whisk into a roux. Add clam juice, light cream and milk. Whisk until well mixed. Add Old Bay and chopped thyme. Whisk over heat until hot. Add crab meat and fold soup together. Salt and Pepper to taste. Serve hot.

*I refrigerated the soup on Friday and then added approximately 2 more cups milk to thin out the soup before heating it up today. So, so good!!!!

21 comments:

Jaime and Jen DISH said...

OMGosh, this looks AMAZING!!!!! What a beautiful meal and I'm going to have to try this because I love crab!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe and tips!

The Food Hound said...

This looks so tasty! I love any kind of bisque, and it looks like a bisque. I agree, great game-day pick! The addition of Old Bay has me sold-- LOVE that stuff :)

Velva said...

Although elegant for dinner, it is perfect for Sunday football. This is a really great idea for a simple cream soup. Nice.

Cindy Ellison said...

Another winner! I am gonna have to make this! I love good soups and am sure I would love this one!

Thanks a bunch!

Gabrielle said...

looks great! Quick question: Would you ever puree the veggies for this to make it smoother (and then sprinkle the crab on top right before serving?). Thoughts?

Unknown said...

Thanks for the comments all!

Gabrielle - good question and
funny because when envisioning this soup, I was first thinking of a super velvety soup with bits of crab on top which is more elegant for sure!

For an elegant soup, I would consider pressing the soup (without the crab meat of course) through a chinoise to get that velvety texture. Then add the crab meat on top.

We have a chinoise with a stand but I am always too anxious to try the soup as is... that I rarely use it - need to start!

Cheers!

Unknown said...

Yum, How can I get inveited to these dinner parties!

Katerina said...

Mmm, this is so hearty. So creamy and comforting. I wish to your team many victories.

Joanne said...

That soup does look seriously luscious. Good call on moving it to another day. You wouldn't want it to outshine those short ribs!

laurie said...

I love soup in the fall...this looks like a winner!

Brownieville Girl said...

Sounds like the perfect dish for eating on your knee while watching the match!

chow and chatter said...

oh I agree this makes a wonderful meal yum

Nuts about food said...

Really looking forward to trying this out soon. I imagine you used fresh crab meat...do you think canned crab meat would work too?

Unknown said...

That bowl of soup looks so warm and inviting....!!!!

blackbookkitchendiaries said...

oh wow! this is fantastic:) thank you for sharing this.

Simply Life said...

oh this soup looks delicious and so comforting!

Unknown said...

Nuts about food, thanks! I used the canned Phillips brand Crab Meat, claw. Can you find that in Italy? If not, I'm sure you'll find something even better!

I think it's very good! :)

Nuts about food said...

Thanks. We have canned crab meat, but not claw I believe. Glad to hear you used canned crab. Certainly makes life easier. Thanks for adding me in your blog roll!!!

Karen said...

Ooooh! Yummy soup #2! This looks so good...I absolutely adore creamy crab soups.

mr. pineapple man said...

this soup looks like my favorite soup!! bet it tastes like it too!

Anonymous said...

I am definitely going to give this a try. If you like seafood soups give this a try. http://thearrogantchef.blogspot.com/2010/10/arrogant-chefs-lobster-bisque.html