Today's goodness comes to us from Gramma Terry, my dad's mom. She made this delicious soup for my husband and I the last time we visited Oklahoma and it was to die for! She served it with a crusty baguette and it was so creamy and wonderful. Its a miracle that no one on this side of the family has cholesterol problems, because so much of her cooking involves lots of REAL butter and REAL cream. If you are looking for a bit of a lighter fare, you can substitute the butter for non-hydrogenated margarine spread, and substitute the cream for half and half or milk.
I think she clipped this recipe from Southern Living, or Better Homes and Gardens, but I couldn't find the instructions on how to actually make the soup, so I just copied the ingredient list. The instructions must have been on the next page. When I made it at home, I just leaned on my intuition on how to make soup, and tried to think like Gramma T. (I just did a Google search and found it on Taste of Home).
When I got home and looked at the recipe, I was amused that the pad of paper is from the Oklahoma Renewable Energy Council, so I had to mention that. I never expected a food blog would allow me to talk about renewable energy, but why pass up the opportunity? Despite the fact that Oklahoma is still a leader in the nation in producing natural gas, there is an abundant amount of wind that has yet to be tapped. In fact, while reporting for Forbes.com in 2008 as a clean technology intern, I learned that Oklahoma is in the nation's top 10 for generating electricity from the wind, and is number five in the nation for potential wind power.
Ok, so back to tomato soup. I used my favorite roasted tomatoes instead of tomato juice, and I used Kanimi brand Crab Smart crab flavored sea food flakes, which is pollack with a bit of snow crab meat. According to the package, both were harvested sustainably. Canned crab meat works too, but I think it has a bit of a metallic taste from being in the can. You can always omit the crab and just make creamy tomato soup. If you're concerned about seafood sustainability, check out the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch list.
Ingredients:
3 T. chopped onion
1 garlic clove (or 1 t. minced garlic)
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour (you may or may not need this)
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
2 1/2 c. half and half or cream
2 c. tomato juice (I used my Roasted Tomatoes)
1/4 t. Worcestershire sauce1/4 t. ground savory or thyme
hot sauce to taste
2 6-oz. cans of crab meat
garnish with sour cream and parsely
I started by melting the butter in a saucepan and then adding the onions. Sautee the onions on medium heat until they become translucent. You can use green onions too, but they burn quickly, so don't cook for too long. I then added the crab meat, garlic, salt, pepper and worcestershire sauce. To bring out the flavor of the crab, you want to cook it it a bit first, even if the package says "pre-cooked." Make sure the heat is medium or low, because it can stick to the bottom of the pan quickly.
Once the crab is warmed and the smells fill your kitchen, its time to add the tomatoes (juice or
blended; see my earlier recipe for roasted tomatoes here). Turn up the heat just a bit, stirring constantly so the tomatoes begin to bubble. Add the savory or thyme if you haven't already. Because I used a chunkier tomato sauce, I did not use the flour. However, if you are using tomato juice, this is where you would add the flour. Start by adding just a spoonful at a time, stirring until the flour is smooth, so it doesn't form clumps. By adding it slowly and stirring, you will thicken the sauce but prevent weird flour lumps.
Now its time for the yummiest part! Add the milk, half and half or cream (the more fat, the tastier!), and turn up the heat just a bit. Maintain the constant stirring, so the milk doesn't burn and mixes evenly in your soup. You can either turn the heat down and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or serve it as is. Simmering only makes it a bit richer and the flavor stand out more. You can also skip the sour cream and instead add a pinch of parmesan cheese. Add a dash of hot sauce and you're done!
Here's a word of caution: start with one package of crab meat and sautee with butter and onions. That may be plenty for you, especially if you just want a hint of seafood flavor. I wasn't paying attention and added two 8-oz packages. At first I didn't realize that was 1.5 times as much as the recipe calls for. (I should have done the math in my head first, but I was in a hurry).
Sometimes recipes fail. This was a big FAIL for me. The taste was fine, we both agreed, but the consistency was all wrong. Probably because I used chunky tomatoes instead of tomato juice, in addition to having 1/2 cup too much crab. Rather than soup, it was more like a thick, chunky alla panna sauce (like marinara with alfredo sauce).
But, the key to recession cooking is not to give up when things fail! Instead, take a deep breath and do two things: try it again. You will learn from your previous mistakes and try things differently next time. And most importantly, do something creative with the leftovers (in the next couple of days, so they don't spoil! Leftovers do you no good if they end up in the garbage or compost!). Stay tuned for how I reinvented the tomato soup into a pasta sauce.
Enjoy!
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