Chilled Indian-Spiced Tomato Soup With Crabmeat

By á-174942

Ingredients

• SPICE MIX:
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• SOUP:
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1/4 cup chopped peeled fresh ginger (from abt 3"-long piece)
• 6 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 pound red bell peppers chopped
• 1 3/4 cups chopped fresh fennel bulb
• 3 pounds plum tomatoes diced (abt 8 cups)
• 5 1/4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce - (about)
• 1 pound fresh crabmeat picked over
• Thinly-sliced radishes
• Chopped fresh chives

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

For Spice Mix: Toast all ingredients in heavy medium skillet over medium heat until spices darken slightly in color and start to pop, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Cool in skillet. Transfer to spice mill and grind finely.

For Soup: Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add celery, onion, and carrots. Sauté until vegetables soften slightly, about 8 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and sauté 3 minutes. Add bell peppers and fennel. Stir 2 minutes to coat. Add tomatoes; cook until tomatoes soften and break down, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Add broth and bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until all vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes. Add ground spice mix; return soup to boil. Remove from heat; cover and steep 20 minutes.

Place coarse sieve over large bowl. Working with 2 cups at a time, strain soup into bowl, pressing liquid and most of solids through sieve. Season soup to taste with hot pepper sauce, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate soup until cold, at least 3 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)

Ladle soup into 8 shallow bowls. Divide crabmeat among bowls. Garnish with radish slices and chives.

This recipe yields 8 first-course servings.