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
• 1/4  cup  chopped green bell pepper
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 1  tablespoon  Old Bay seasoning
• 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
• 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 (30% from fat)

Fat:

5g (sat 2.6g,mono 1.4g,poly 0.4g)

Protein:

13g

Carbohydrate:

13.3g

Fiber:

1.8g

Cholesterol:

46mg

Iron:

2.2mg

Sodium:

835mg

Calcium:

112mg