Monday, August 18, 2008

Corn & Crab Soup

Is anyone besides me looking forward to fall? The cool crisp air, the fiery colors, the deep blue sky...fall is my favorite time of year. I anticipation of cooler weather, I was in the mood to make soup; I love to make soup. We're going to step outside of the box just a little which means we're not cooking chicken or vegetable soup. I have a yen for a Cajun soup. Ok, who's ready to learn to cook Cajun?

Crab and Corn Soup -

First you make a a roux - ¾ cup all purpose flour, ¼ cup canola oil, ¼ stick salted butter. Combine a frying pan over medium-high heat.
Continuously whisk/stir the mixture until it turns a shiny medium brown (the color of peanut butter). Smell the wonderful aroma, smells kind of nutty. Just be careful not let it burn! If necessary, add more flour to the pan as needed to stiffen up the mix. You're a Cajun; you just made the roux! Take it off the burner and set aside and let it rest for a few minutes to cool down.




Use a sharp knife, slice 8 ears of fresh corn (do not use canned or frozen corn) corn kernels off the cob. . .hang on to the cobs! A special thanks to my husband, he's our hand model for the corn portion of this recipe.
To get this soup to turn out rich and creamy, go back and scrape each corncob with a tablespoon to extract the residual “corn milk.” Then set both the kernels and the “milk” aside for a while in a bowl.




Start by placing a large non-stick Dutch oven on the stove and sautéing 1 medium onion finely chopped, 1 green pepper finely chopped, 4 cloves of minced garlic, 1 rib of celery finely chopped, and 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley in 1/4 cup oil. Aren't the colors gorgeous?




When when the veggies are fully wilted and softened, pour in 1 box (32 oz.) low-sodium chicken stock and stir in 1 (16 oz.) can of stewed tomatoes and the corn.



Bring the contents of the pot up to a “slow bubble.”
At this point that whisk in the roux and let the soup slightly thicken over a low heat (this should take only about 15 to 20 minutes).



Occasionally stir the pot as the roux incorporates to keep it from settling to the bottom and scorching. When the soup reaches the consistency you like, drop in the containers (8 or 16 ozs. each - you need 2 lbs.) of crab meat (you can use claw meat or a combination of both).
Add 1 teaspoon granulated or 1 capful of liquid crab boil (I recommend Zatarain's), 1/2 tablespoon, 1/2 tablespoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper OR
1-1/2 tablespoons Zatarains' Creole Seasoning, and 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce.



With the heat still on low, cover the pot and simmer the soup gently for about another 20 minutes. When you’re ready to eat, quickly stir in 1/4 cup of Half-N-Half to bring all the flavors together.



Serve with some hot buttered French bread because this is pure dining pleasure! Now we're ready for fall.


Note: Be careful not to over-season the soup. The best way to do this is to taste the cooking mixture before adding the cayenne, you break this up by adding a little at a time.

13 comments:

April said...

I have never tried this. It does sound wonderful!

Prudy said...

I made corn soup yesterday too. No crab though. I just don't buy much seafood living in a land locked state. Your soup look soooo good, way better than mine. And yes, I'm counting the days till fall. I wish the weather would cool down. It's still around 105 daily here.

Michele said...

Fall is my favorite season! I look forward to it every year. I make tons of soup and crockpot creations in the Fall. I'll have to leave out the crab if I make your soup. I would love it...but I'd be the only one in the house that would eat it. The seasonings would be perfect...but I'll have to think of a substitution for the crab. Great post!

Greg C said...

My family would never even try anything like that. I may have to make it for myself though. :)

gigi said...

Crab is one of my favorites and living on the coast we can get it anytime. This is the time of year to make this soup because all the corn is fresh and in season! Yummy!

Pam said...

Delicious. What a great recipe and a perfect way to use fresh corn.

Lori said...

Wow, this looks good! I've never been big on making soups, but this recipe makes me want to give it a try! Can't wait for the fall.

Marjie said...

I love cream soups. And I love fall, although I dread the winter which follows....

Paula said...

I ready to learn! Oooh, I do lovvve soup! I've had crab chowder and corn chowder, but not corn and crab soup. This sounds great! I've never seen the liquid seasoning before; I bet it's very flavorful. Love your step by step photos, too. YUM!

Aggie said...

This soup looks delicious! What a great combination!

Jenny said...

I was just thinking I haven't made soup in way too long. This one sounds perfect and I wouldn't even care how darn hot it is here!

Bayou Woman said...

Kat, this looks GREAT! Thanks for visiting my blog today and leaving a comment! How did you find me? In case you don't know about it, there is a food forum by a friend of mine, Lynn, who would LOVE for you to post recipes there. It's called eatlikeanative.com and we'd love to have you there. I can't way to try this recipe in cooler weather! Thanks
Bayou Woman
PS I'm going to email you a question!

Megan said...

My favorite time of year is fall and I'm so ready for it!!! I even have been lighting my pumpkin candles in the evening again. :) This soup sound delicious and now I'm tempted to buy the crab I see at costco!!! I love cajun.