Crab & Sweet Corn Soup

Ingredients

• •2 lbs cooked king crab legs
• •1 onion
• •2 stalks celery
• •2 cloves garlic
• •14½ oz canned tomatoes
• •2 bay leaves
• •2 teaspoons peppercorns
• •4 sprigs thyme
• •2 teaspoons thyme
• •4 sprigs parsley
• •2 tablespoons parsley
• •2 quarts water
• •¾ teaspoon salt
• •4 medium ears of corn
• •2 tablespoons olive oil
• •1 cup shallots
• •2 tablespoons tomato paste
• •⅓ cup dry sherry
• •1 roasted red bell pepper
• •black pepper
• •2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method

Adapted from foodista.com

1. 1Using kitchen shears, cut open the cooked king crab legs and pick out the meat, about 10 minutes, reserving the shells for the stock and the meat for the soup.
2. 2Make the crab stock: In a large stockpot or Dutch oven add the crab shells and remaining ingredients for the stock (except the salt).
3. 3Bring to a boil.
4. 4Reduce heat.
5. 5Simmer for an hour. The liquid should be reduced by at least half.
6. 6Strain the stock, using a fine-mesh strainer, discarding solids (you should have 3-4 cups of stock).
7. 7Season lightly with salt to taste.
8. 8You can do this step a day ahead of time, and keep the stock in the refrigerator until ready to use, any longer and I would suggest freezing the stock.
9. 9Also if you do this, you'll also want to freeze the crab meat as well, my preferred way to freeze crab meat is by placing the meat in a ziplock freezer bag and adding a few tablespoons of milk.
10. 10Cut the kernels from the ears of corn into a large bowl (you should have around 3 cups corn).
11. 11Using the back of a chef's knife, scrape the spent cobs to extract the sweet, milky corn pulp into a separate bowl.
12. 12Add a cup of the corn kernels into the bowl with the corn pulp and reserve the remaining corn kernels.
13. 13Heat olive oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until the oil is shimmering.
14. 14Add the shallots.
15. 15Saute, stirring occasionally, until the shallot is softened and browned around the edges, about 5-7 minutes.
16. 16Add the tomato paste and 1½ teaspoons thyme.
17. 17Cook, stirring constantly, until the tomato paste is evenly incorporated into the shallots and is darkened in color, 2-3 minutes.
18. 18Add the dry sherry.
19. 19Cook, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot, until the liquid is almost completely cooked out, about a minute.
20. 20Add the crab stock, plus additional water (or bottled clam juice) to measure 5 cups of liquid total, along with the roasted red pepper and the corn/pulp mixture.
21. 21Bring to a simmer.
22. 22Simmer for about 10-15 minutes, to blend the flavors.
23. 23Working in batches, ladle the soup into a blender and puree until smooth.
24. 24Return the soup to the pot, add the salt and pepper to taste.
25. 25Bring to a gentle simmer.
26. 26Add the remaining thyme, the remaining 2 cups corn kernels and about ⅔ of the crab meat.
27. 27Gently simmer for 3-4 minutes.
28. 28Off heat, stir in lemon juice and parsley.
29. 29Season with salt & pepper to taste.
30. 30To serve: ladle the soup into bowls.
31. 31Garnish with the remaining crab meat.