By Mary Parks | 1.5 hours

Tomato soup is a classic but we decided to amp it up with a spicy crabby variation. For some extra pizzaz, shuck crab legs off of some larger male crabs then create your stock from the bodies. Scale back the spices and omit the sherry for a kid-friendly version.  

This recipe was created in the height of Covid during as part of our Shuck at Home Program which prioritizes affordable and accessible ingredients paired with our green crab giveaways.

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INGREDIENTS & MATERIALS

  • dutch oven or oven-proof stock pot

  • 2 Tbsp olive oil 

  • 1 large onion

  • 5 cloves of garlic, crushed

  • ½ cup carrots, diced

  • ½ cup of celery, diced

  • 1 ½ pounds of tomato (fresh or canned)

  • salt to taste

  • 1 ½ cups green crab stock

  • 1 tbsp brown sugar

  • ½ cup fresh basil

  • spicy crushed red pepper to taste

  • chili flakes to taste

  • 1 cup of sherry 

  • 2 bay leaves

  • 4 sprigs of thyme

  • pepper to taste

  • paprika to taste

  • fennel seed to taste

  • half a lemon, zested and squeezed

  • raw green crab legs

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400° F. 

  2. Add olive oil, onions, garlic, tomatoes, celery, carrots (cut side down), and olive oil to a Dutch oven. Sprinkle with salt and roast for 30 minutes.

    If you’re using canned tomatoes, add them in during step 4 instead

  3. Take the Dutch oven directly out of the oven and place on medium heat on the stovetop. 

  4. Add sherry, herbs, spices, red pepper, two cups of water, green crab stock, and sugar. Mix well.

  5. Remove thyme and bay leaves and blend using an immersion or traditional blender. 

    *For a chunkier soup, only blend half of the mixture. 

  6. Zest and squeeze half a lemon into the soup.

  7. Sample and add salt to taste. 

  8. Optional: While the soup is simmering, remove one cup of the soup and add to a sauté pan. Once soup is simmering add crab legs and cook for 3-4 minutes. 

  9. Optional: Remove the crab legs and set aside. Add the soup mixture from the pan back into the pot. 

  10. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with crab legs and fresh basil. 

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This recipe was developed for a live-cooking demo with the Sustainable Business Network for their Eat Local MA initiative, in collaboration with our Shuck at Home effort.