Chesapeake Crab Soup
- 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter
- 2 large yellow onions, coarsely chopped
- 3 medium celery ribs, coarsely chopped (include a few leaves)
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 small green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and coarsely chopped
- 1 large whole bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon dried leaf thyme, crumbled
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne), or to taste
- 1 pound veal or beef knuckle bones
- 4 medium redskin potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
- 3½ cups beef stock or broth
- 3 cups water
- 1/3 cup medium pearl barley
- One 15-or 16-ounce can crushed tomatoes with their liquid
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over for bits of shell and cartilage
- ¼ cup freshly chopped parsley
Instructions:
A most unusual soup that begins with slow simmering veal bones, onions, celery, potatoes, carrots, and bell pepper and ends with a last-minute addition of snowy lumps of crabmeat.
- Melt the butter in a large, heavy kettle over moderate heat. Add the onions, celery, carrots, and bell pepper and cook, stirring now and then, for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Add the bay leaf, thyme, and black and cayenne pepper, and cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the veal knuckle bones and potatoes, and cook and stir for 3 minutes. Pour in the beef stock and 2 cups of the water. Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat so that the liquid barely bubbles, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.
- Add the barley and the remaining 1 cup water, cover, and simmer 2 hours more or until the flavors mellow and marry.
- Discard the bones and bay leaf, then mix in the tomatoes and salt. Cool the soup to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
- When ready to proceed, skim off any fat that has congealed on top of the soup. Set the soup over low heat and as soon as it steams, add the crabmeat and parsley. Heat for 3 to 5 minutes only, stirring as little as possible so that the lumps of crabmeat remain intact. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed.
- Ladle into heated soup bowls and serve as the main course of a casual lunch or supper.