She-Crab Soup

By contessawannabe

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp unsalled butter
• 2 finely minced shallots
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt + more to taste
• 1 tbsp all purpose flour
• 4 cups half and half
• 2 cups fish broth
• 4 tbsp crab (or fish) roe
• 5 tbsp sherry
• 1 1/2 cups (8 oz) lump crabmeat
• Black pepper (finely ground)

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

Heat butter in a 3 quart saucepan over medium-high heat until frothy. add shalls and salt and saute, sitrring, untill shallots are just soft but not browned, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the shallots and whish until incorporated into the butter and shallots - about 1 minute.
Add half and half, broth, 2 tbsp roe, and 1 tbsp sherry and whisk to incorporate. Cover. When at a simmer, turn to low, uncover and simmer gently stirring occassionally, until soup reduces by 1/6, about 12-15 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer and return to the pan.
Add the crab and cook for 2 minutes over low heat, stirring to combine. Season the soup with salt and pepper.
Serve by placing 1 tsp of roe in bottom of each of 6 bowls and ladle soup on top of it. Drizzle 2 tsp of sherry into each bowl.
VARIATION - add pureed Jerusalem artichokes, which give the soup a more velvety body and a milky, nutty sweetness. Peel and dice 3/4 pound of jerusalem artichokes and steam in a pot fitted with a strainer basked until tender, 8-12 minutes. Drain. Puree until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the puree before adding the crabmeat.