Blue Crab And Melon Soup With Nori Crème Fraîche Recipes

BLUE CRAB AND MELON SOUP WITH NORI CRèME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• Pour enough water into a large stockpot fitted with a strainer basket to reach bottom of strainer. Bring to a boil, and add crabs. Cover and steam for five minutes. Transfer steamed crabs in strainer to sink to cool.
• Working in batches, purée melon in a food processor until smooth, and reserve (you should have six and a half cups purée).
• When crabs are cool enough to handle, clean them: with kitchen scissors, cut off eyes and mouth, and remove and discard top shells and spongy, pointed gills beneath. From underside of each crab, remove cape of shell that tapers to a point, and discard. With a large sharp chef's knife, chop crabs into small pieces, and reserve.
• In a large soup pot, melt butter over medium-low heat, add leeks and salt, and sauté, stirring, until tender but not browned, six minutes. Add chopped crabs, and cook over medium heat about 8 minutes, or until pan is nearly dry and crabs are very fragrant. Pour 1/4 cup chardonnay into pan and continue to cook, stirring, two minutes. Pour melon purée over crabs and leeks, and add seeds. Simmer over medium-low heat for a half-hour, stirring occasionally.
• Place crème fraîche in a small bowl, and set it in a medium bowl filled with ice. Whip with a whisk until thick, about two minutes.
• Tear seaweed paper into pieces about 1-inch-square. Working in batches, process them to a powder in a spice grinder or coffee mill. Fold one tablespoon of powder into thickened crème fraîche.
• Strain soup through a fine mesh strainer. Add remaining chardonnay, lump crab meat and chives. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper, and divide evenly among six bowls. Garnish with dollops of nori crème fraîche and serve immediately.

CREAMY CORN CRAB SOUP

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Add the broth, corn and potatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat; cool slightly. , In a blender, puree half of the corn mixture. Return to pan. Stir in the crab, milk and pepper; cook over low heat until heated through (do not boil). If desired, top with fresh cracked pepper, chives and crushed red pepper flakes.

CREAM OF CRAB SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter in a 3-qt. saucepan; stir in flour, seafood seasoning, salt and curry powder. Cook until thickened and bubbly. Gradually add milk; cook and stir until mixture is hot (do not boil). , Remove cartilage from crab if necessary. Add crab and parsley to soup; cook and stir just until crab is heated. If desired, thin soup with additional milk; garnish with parsley.

CRABMEAT CROSTINI WITH CHIVES AND CRèME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• Shred crabmeat. Add celery, green onions, chives, and lemon peel; toss. Add next 5 ingredients. Season with salt. Cover; chill at least 2 hours. Do ahead: Can be made 1 day ahead; keep chilled.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange baguette slices in single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Brush both sides of bread with oil. Bake until lightly browned, turning once, about 16 minutes. Do ahead: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool. Store crostini in resealable plastic bags at room temperature.
• Preheat broiler. Arrange toasts on baking sheet. Spread 1 heaping tablespoon crabmeat mixture onto each; sprinkle with cheese. Broil until cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Serve warm.

ROASTED RED PEPPER AND TOMATO SOUP WITH DILL CREME FRAICHE

Steps:

• SOUP.
• pre-heat oven broiler.
• lay tin foil onto a cookie sheet
• cut peppers in half, remove seeds and the stem, cut the top off the head of garlic and rub with olive oil, salt and pepper, cut tomatoes in half and place on foil and place under broiler.
• remove tomatoes after 5 minutes.
• remove peppers and garlic after 10 minutes, wrap in the foil and set aside until cooled enough to handle.
• heat remaining oil in a medium pot on medium-low heat
• peel tomatoes and peppers (skins will slip off easily) and squeeze garlic out and add everything to the pot as well as chicken stock and simmer for 5 minutes.
• puree the soup (in a blender or with a hand blender) and add sugar.
• season to taste and simmer for 10 minutes.
• CREME FRAICHE.
• whip cream briskly until stiff.
• gently fold wipped cream, sour cream and dill together
• add a healthy dollop onto every steamy bowl of soup.
• yummy.

CHILLED CORN-MELON SOUP WITH CRAB

Steps:

• Soup: Remove corn kernels from the cob by placing corn upright in a large, deep mixing bowl. Run a knife from top to bottom, all the way around, allowing the kernels to fall into the bowl. Repeat with remaining corn. (Note: Corn cobs may be discarded, or saved for another use such as corn stock.) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and a pinch of salt. Cook shallots until lightly caramelized, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes. Stir in corn and another pinch of salt; cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
• Place melon on a flat work surface. Slice off top and bottom, and place upright. Remove rind by cutting along the edge of the melon from top to bottom; repeat all the way around until the rind is completely removed. Cut the melon in half, discard the seeds, then roughly chop; set aside 1 cup for garnish and place the rest in a large bowl.Cut away and discard tomato stems; chop tomatoes and add to the melon. Slice off the top and bottom of the pepper and discard the stem. Slice the pepper from top to bottom to open it up. Then "unroll" the pepper on the cutting surface; cut away the central core of seeds and discard. Chop the pepper and add to the melon and tomato; repeat with second pepper. Add 2 large pinches of salt and toss well. Stir in the corn mixture and refrigerate, 2 hours.
• Place chilled corn mixture into a blender. Cover and purée on high speed until smooth and frothy, about 30 seconds. Taste for seasoning, and add more salt as necessary. (Note: You'll need to do this in 2 batches.) Set soup aside while making the garnish.
• Garnish: Preheat broiler. Place corn on a rack fitted over a rimmed baking sheet. Rub with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt. Place sheet 6 inches under the heat source and broil 6-8 minutes, turning occasionally to lightly char all sides. Meanwhile, in a bowl, add crab meat, cherry tomatoes, gooseberries (optional), reserved cantaloupe, lime zest and juice, and remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. (Note: Garnish in the video is for 1 serving; the written recipe is for 6 servings.) Mix gently to combine, keeping crab pieces whole. Chiffonade the basil: Roll leaves together like a cigar, then slice into thin strips. Add to the garnish. Remove corn from the oven; when cool enough to handle, cut off kernels as in Step 1. Add corn to the garnish and toss.
• Assembly: Divide garnish into 6 bowls. Slowly pour soup over half of the garnish for a dramatic presentation. Serve cold or at room temperature.

CHEF JOHN'S CRèME FRAîCHE

Steps:

• Combine cream and buttermilk in a glass jar. Cover tightly with cheesecloth (or any breathable material) and let sit at room temperature (70 to 75 degrees F (21 to 24 degrees C)) until thickened, about 24 hours.
• Stir mixture, then screw on the lid. Refrigerate for 24 hours before using.

TORTILLA-CRAB SOUP WITH TOMATILLO CRèME FRAîCHE RECIPE

Steps:

• In a blender or food processor, combine the tomatillos with 1/2 cup of the cilantro, the crème fraîche and lime juice and puree. Transfer to a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. In a medium skillet, heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil until shimmering. Add the tortilla strips in several batches and fry over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly golden, about 2 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tortilla strips to a plate lined with paper towels. Sprinkle with salt. Melt the butter in a stockpot. When the foam subsides, add the bacon and cook over moderate heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and reserve for another use. Add the onion, garlic, jalapeño and scallion whites to the pot and cook over moderate heat until softened but not browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Whisk in the flour, cumin and coriander and cook for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Whisk in the fish stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer the soup for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the peas, scallion greens and the remaining 1/2 cup of cilantro and bring the soup to a simmer over moderate heat. To serve, mound the crabmeat in the center of 12 deep soup bowls and ladle the soup over the crab. Garnish with the tomatillo crème fraîche and tortilla strips. Pass the lime wedges and hot sauce alongside. MAKE AHEAD The tomatillo crème fraîche can be refrigerated overnight. The tortilla strips can be stored in an airtight container overnight. The soup can be prepared through Step 4; refrigerate overnight, but add the peas, cilantro and scallion greens just before reheating.

CRAB AND ROASTED RED BELL PEPPER SOUP

Steps:

• Make broth:
• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in heavy large wide pot over medium-high heat. Add crab shells and sauté until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add 10 cups water and next 8 ingredients; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until broth is reduced to 12 cups, about 30 minutes. Strain broth through sieve lined with cheesecloth. Cool. Spoon fat from top of broth.
• Make soup:
• Char red bell peppers over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag and let stand 10 minutes. Peel and seed peppers. Transfer peppers to blender. Add 2 tablespoons butter. Puree until mixture is smooth.
• Melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add flour and cook until mixture is golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in broth, then red pepper purée. Bring soup to boil. Simmer until flavors blend and soup thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Soup can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Add reserved crabmeat and 1/2 cup chopped parsley to soup. Simmer just until crabmeat is heated through, about 2 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls. Spoon dollop of crème fraîche atop each. Garnish with parsley sprigs and serve.