Maryland Crab Soup Diversion

Hurricane Sandy is raining hell on my family on the Delmarva Peninsula. Everyone is battened down, provisioned up and hoping the power stays on. The rainfall totals plus the wind predictions are dire, and there will be washed out roads, ruined beaches, downed trees, flooding, nothing good.

It's nervous-making. To keep the nerves at bay, my sister is cooking. Here's a recipe we worked on together and we think perfected. Crab Soup. For those in the know, there are two main kinds of crab soup, She-Crab and Maryland Crab. She-Crab is amazing, and full of butter, cream and brandy. I don't make that one. This recipe is the tomato based Maryland Crab Soup. It's good for what ails you.  It's the only thing my son has asked me to make him since he went off to school. I got a 4am text that said I want crab soup. So I made it for him. It was yummy, and it's the only soup I don't end up throwing the last bit out, because we eat it all.

image nabbed from ibreakplates.com

Yeah, mine's a little processed, but extremely flexible, and it's a great base to start from.  There's a million ways to make this. Here's what you need to make mine besides a huge pot and a hungry kid:*

1 package Knorr Vegetable Dip Mix. It used to be called Vegetable Soup, now it has a bread bowl full of dip on the label.
3, not the 4 cups of water the package says you need if it even still has the soup directions.
1 box beef or chicken broth or two cans, beef and low sodium is better.
1 can tomato soup, undiluted
1 can tomato puree, crushed or diced tomatoes. If you really like tomatoes, add more.
1 can V8 Juice ( I use low sodium)
1 can ready to eat vegetable soup - preferably no rice or pasta, but whatever. Again, low sodium.
1 -2 cans crab meat - one should be lump or claw, the regular stuff is tiny bits like some tuna. I've found one of each to be best, the teeny tiny crab bits become part of the broth.
1 TBS Old Bay Seasoning or seafood seasoning. Old Bay is the real deal: 1-2 tsp if you're not a fan of spice, more if you are.
Salt, pepper, parsley, onion and garlic powder to taste
Beef or chicken bullion to taste

* To make myself feel like a real cook, I saute fresh veggies in olive oil and butter first:
Carrots, celery, onion, red, yellow, orange or green pepper, garlic, bits of chopped greens, diced potato - anything goes.

I also add frozen peas and sometimes frozen vegetables - corn, green beans, again, whatever.

You can add shrimp if you've got em, I've even added leftover fish. Put them in towards the end of the cooking though, or they'll likely turn mushy.

Of course, if you have fresh tomatoes, or better yet, fresh seafood, use them.

Bring everything to a boil and simmer until you can't wait anymore. You have to wait long enough for the Knorr soup to finish cooking, at least 10 minutes. The longer, the better.

Serve with a green salad and warm bread and you're welcome.

If you're really feeling anxious or just love to be in the kitchen, you can make the bread yourself. I  make the overnight no knead recipes done in the dutch oven, because I can't screw them up, and they are the best with soups. But that loaf from the grocery store works just fine too.

xo