Читать книгу Cooking for Friends - Gordon Ramsay - Страница 14

Cornish crab soup

This crab soup instantly transports me to lovely holidays by the Cornish coast. It may seem like a lot of effort to pick out the flesh from the crab and use the shells to make your own stock, but, trust me, the results are well worth it.

SERVES 4

1 large cooked crab, about 1.5kg

3 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 large carrot, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, finely chopped 1 large garlic clove, sliced

1 lemongrass stalk, roughly chopped

1 tbsp tomato purée

splash of brandy or cognac

200ml Noilly Prat or dry white wine

3 plum tomatoes, chopped

sprig each of basil, tarragon and parsley

3-4 tbsp crème fraiche

handful of coriander leaves, to garnish

Remove the flesh from the crab shell: twist off the legs and claws from the body. Turn over the body so the pale belly is facing upwards. Pull the belly shell to remove it in a single piece. Discard along with the small sac and furry grey gills (known as dead man’s fingers). Use a small spoon to scrape out the brown and white meat from the body, keeping them in separate bowls. Crack open the claws and legs and extract the flesh with a skewer or a crab pick.

Use the back of a Chinese cleaver, a strong chef’s knife or a pestle to break up the crab shell into small pieces. Place them in a large bowl.

Now make the crab stock: heat the oil in a large pot and add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic and lemongrass. Stir over high heat for 4-6 minutes until the vegetables are golden and beginning to soften. Add the crab shells, tomato purée and a splash of brandy or cognac and stir well. Fry for another 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the Noilly Prat and boil for a few minutes until reduced by two-thirds. Pour in enough water to cover, about 750-800ml, and bring to a simmer. Skim off any scum or froth from the surface of the liquid, then add the tomatoes and herbs. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Strain the stock through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Discard the shells and vegetables. Bring the stock to the boil and let it bubble vigorously until reduced by a third, to about 500ml. Stir in a few tablespoons of crème fraiche and season well to taste.

Spoon the brown and white crabmeat into the centre of warmed bowls and pour the piping hot soup around. (You could also add the crabmeat to the gently simmering soup to warm through before serving.) Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.