Savannah-Style Crab Soup

I found this recipe the other day when looking for an untried soup recipe. I'm having trouble believing I didn't see it in my Cooking Light Cookbooks, but eh. I forgot about it and then D saw it and said it sounded good, so we put it on our menu.

D made it. He isn't sure why you have to brown the flour (neither am I), but he did. He said he probably used more vegetables than it called for. He thought it would be really salty but it wasn't.

The taste...needs a little more Old Bay (you know you're from Maryland when if). But overall it was very good. Would have again. We had with Beer-Cheese Bread.

Savannah-Style Crab Soup

If the flour starts to brown too quickly, remove the skillet from the heat and stir the flour constantly until it cools.

Yield: 9 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter
Cooking spray
2 cups chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper (used green pepper)
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning (needs some more)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
4 cups clam juice
1 1/2 cups whole milk (used 2%)
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 pound lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
1/3 cup dry sherry

Preparation
Place flour in a 9-inch cast-iron skillet; cook over medium heat 15 minutes or until brown, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat.

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add carrot and the next 5 ingredients (carrot through garlic), and sauté 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add Old Bay seasoning, salt, black pepper, dried thyme, and bay leaf; cook for 1 minute. Sprinkle the browned flour over vegetable mixture, and cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in clam juice, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until mixture is slightly thick, stirring frequently.

Stir in the milk and half-and-half; cook 4 minutes. Stir in crabmeat and sherry; cook 5 minutes or until the soup is thoroughly heated. Discard bay leaf before serving.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 151; Calories from fat: 30%; Fat: 5g; Saturated fat: 2.6g; Monounsaturated fat: 1.4g; Polyunsaturated fat: 0.4g; Protein: 13g; Carbohydrate: 13.3g; Fiber: 1.8g; Cholesterol: 46mg; Iron: 2.2mg; Sodium: 835mg; Calcium: 112mg

Cooking Light AUGUST 2003