Blue Crab Soup
- 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter
- 1 cup finely minced celery (include a few leaves)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, or to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 6 cups (1½ quarts) milk (about)
- 2 cups (1 pint) heavy cream (about)
- ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce, or to taste
- 1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over for bits of shell and cartilage
- 4 tablespoons cream sherry
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 2 medium lemons, very thinly sliced and seeded
- 3 large hard-cooked eggs, shelled and thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley or chervil (garnish)
Instructions:
If blue crab is unavailable, substitute Dungeness or even frozen snow crab.
- Melt the butter in a large, heavy saucepan over moderately low heat. Add the celery, pepper, and nutmeg and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until the celery is soft.
- Blend in the flour and cook and stir for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk, then cook and stir for about 5 minutes or until the soup thickens slightly. Do not let the soup boil or it may curdle.
- Add the cream and cook, stirring now and then, for 10 minutes or until the flavors mellow. Mix in the Worcestershire and hot pepper sauce. Note: You can prepare the recipe up to this point a day or two in advance. Simply cover and refrigerate until ready to proceed. Tip: If you cool the soup, then smooth a sheet of plastic food wrap flat over the surface so no “skin” will form on top.
- When ready to proceed, gently fold the crabmeat into the soup using a large spoon; do not stir. Bring just to a simmer over moderately low heat; this will take about 10 minutes. Fold in the sherry and salt, taste for seasoning, and adjust the salt, pepper, Worcestershire, and hot pepper sauce as needed. Also thin with a little additional milk or cream, if you like.
- To serve, place 2 slices each of lemon and hard-cooked egg in each of four to six heated large, broad-rimmed soup bowls; add the chopped hard-cooked egg, dividing the total amount evenly; then ladle in the soup. Garnish each portion with a light scattering of the chopped parsley.