How to re-create this recipe:
Ingredients:
(Yields 8 Servings)
- 1 Lb of Jonah Crab Claws (or crab meat of your choice)
- 1 – 10 oz bag of frozen sweet green peas
- 2 Fennel Bulbs (reserve some fennel fronds for garnish)
- 1 Parsnip
- 1 Quart of Fish broth or Fish stock
- 4 Shallots (or 1 small yellow onion)
- 4 Garlic cloves
- 2 Tbsp’s of Vegetable Oil
- salt and black pepper to taste
Putting it together:
- Prep your vegetables first; peel your parsnip and chop it into medium chunks. Small dice your shallots and garlic cloves. Discard the outermost fibrous layer of your fennel bulbs and cut them into small chunks.
- In a medium sauce pot, on medium heat add your Vegetable oil and saute the shallots and garlic cloves for a few minutes until shallots are translucent.
- Add your parsnip and fennel, a little salt and black pepper, and saute on medium heat until they have softened (about 10 minutes). Fill another small pot with water and bring to a simmer.
- Add your Fish broth and continue to cook for 30 minutes until the parsnips and fennel are completely cooked through and very soft. Add your peas and cook for 10 minutes.
- While the soup continues to cook, drop your crab claws into the small pot and re-heat them for 6 minutes. Afterwards, take out all the crabmeat and reserve it to add to the cooked soup (reserve some crabmeat for garnish)
- When soup is done, puree it using a immersion blender until the consistency is smooth and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
- Garnish your soup bowls with some fennel fronds and crabmeat and enjoy!
Nourishment for your body: Peas have a good amount of protein, dietary fiber, vitamins A and C, Iron, Folate, Thiamin (B-1 responsible for converting Carbohydrates to energy), and Manganese (A mineral that plays a role in bone formation, reduces blood clotting and inflammation and helps to metabolize necessary amino acids in the body). Fennel contains fiber, potassium, folate, vitamin C, vitamin B-6, and phytonutrient content, coupled with its lack of cholesterol, all support heart health. As fiber helps lower the total amount of cholesterol in the blood, it decreases the risk of heart disease.
Tips when cooking: Nothing says summer like Crabs! A bag of frozen Jonah Crab Claws (or stone crab claws) is always nice to have in your freezer. The claws are very meaty with a flaky texture and tastes sweet. It is relatively easy to get the meat out of them if you have some mallets handy. You can always buy canned crab meat and save yourself time if you don’t feel like taking the meat out of the shells yourself. This soup is wonderful served lukewarm. Drizzling some spicy (chili) oil would be another good garnish. If your a big Crab lover I highly recommend the book “Crab… 50 recipes with the fresh taste of the sea” by Cynthia Nims (See book cover below). If you are buying fish broth or stock instead of making your own, make sure to avoid seasoning your soup until after you have cooked and pureed it. Most stocks and broths come highly seasoned and you run the risk of over salting your soup.
