It’s springtime here on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and that means that crabs are starting to come back into season. Crab soup traditionally comes in two varieties; Cream of crab – a, well, cream based soup. And, Maryland crab – a tomato based soup. My husband is a fan of the Cream, where I am a Maryland kind of gal.
This recipe is for the tomato based soup, and it’s wonderful. A little heat from the old bay, lots of flavor from the crab meat, and tons of veggies! My 3 year old loves it. I always find that soup is a good way to get anything I want to into him!
On another note, we have a new addition to the family. I’m such a horribly slack blogger, you would think I would have posted something earlier…but time is just running away with me these days! So, without further adieu, this is William or “Will” for short. He was born December 19th, and was a hefty 10 lbs at birth. He’s now going on 5 months, and is close to weighing 20 lbs. He is a beast! While Andrew is a carbon-copy of Jon, I think I’ve finally got one that resembles me now. He’s such a sweet and happy baby boy, we are truly blessed!
Okay, back to the soup. It makes a relatively large batch. But, leftovers freeze well. I like to make my own seafood stock with various shells that I leftover from seafood. Crab, shrimp, lobster – all cook down to make a beautiful stock. If you don’t have any of those things available though, try substituting bottled clam juice. I think it would be just as good!
Maryland Crab Soup
2 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen lima beans
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup sliced carrots
large handful of green beans, chopped
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
2 cups beef broth
2 cups seafood stock
1 pound crab meat, picked clean for shells
2 cups water
1 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper
Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add onion, celery, and carrot and saute for a couple minutes, until tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large dutch oven, bring beef broth, seafood stock, and water to a boil. Add the sauteed vegetables, as well as the corn, lima beans, tomatoes, potato, and green beans. Reduce heat to low, and simmer covered for about 30 minutes.
Add the crab meat and stir gently to combine. Simmer for another 30 minutes.
Taste and season with salt and pepper, and more Old Bay if you like before serving.