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Savannah Crab Soup with Tomatoes

Source of Recipe


From "Essentials of Southern Cooking" by Damon Lee Fowler



List of Ingredients



• 4 pounds ripe tomatoes, or 4 cups Italian canned tomatoes, seeded and chopped, with their juices
  
• 1 medium yellow onion, split lengthwise, peeled, and chopped
  
• 2 medium ribs celery, strung and chopped
  
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 2 large or 3 small cloves garlic, lightly crushed, peeled, and minced
  
• 4 cups fish or shrimp broth
  
• 1 large or 2 small bay leaves
  
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon crumbled dried thyme
  
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram, or 1 teaspoon crumbled dried marjoram
  
• 1 large sprig parsley
  
• 2 small hot peppers, left whole
  
• Salt
  
• 2 lemons, one whole and one thinly sliced
  
• 1 pound (2 cups) cooked crabmeat, carefully picked over to remove any bits of shell
  
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  






Instructions



1. If you are using canned tomatoes, then skip to step 2.If using fresh tomatoes, blanch, core, and peel them. Over a wire sieve set into a large bowl, halve them crosswise and scoop out the seeds. Roughly chop them and add them to their collected juices. Discard the seeds.
   
   
2. Put the onion, celery, and olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat and sauté, tossing frequently, until the onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about half a minute longer. Add the stock, tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, marjoram, parsley sprig, and hot pepper pods (left whole); season with salt. Using a vegetable peeler, cut a 1 x 3-inch piece of zest from a lemon and add it to the soup, then halve the lemon. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer slowly until the vegetables are tender and the tomatoes have almost dissolved, about an hour.
   
   
3. Stir in the crab and bring the soup back to a simmer. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Taste and adjust the salt and lemon juice, and simmer another minute. Turn off the heat. Remove and discard the hot peppers, parsley sprig, and lemon zest. Serve at once, garnishing each serving with a slice of lemon and a sprinkling of parsley.
   
   Serves 6 as a main course, 8 as a first course