CORN & CRAB SOUP

Sweet Corn and Crabmeat Soup......tastes like summer!

 Corn and Crabmeat, two fav foods, tangled together, makes one helluva good soup.
     Sweet, succulent corn plus sweet, succulent crabmeat equals a fine pairing for a summer's meal.

Sweet white corn is a perfect pair for crabmeat.

 
 Chef Jay Pierce of LUCKY 32, in both Greensboro and Cary, featured my recipe from THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK on his menu at both Cary and Greensboro restaurants last summer.  It was a crowd favorite, he tells me.  


     I like the sweet white corns available at farm stands during the early summer.  Some folks find them too cloying sweet, but those varieties usually have smaller kernels, which I prefer, and a great taste.  I also use the less expensive back fin crabmeat for this soup, although lump crabmeat is great, too.  My family is a bit lactose-intolerant, so most times I do not add cream, but, if you prefer a more creamy base, just add light cream with the crabmeat, stir and continue to cook just until heated through.

Crabs waiting to be shipped.  I'm lazy, so I usually buy crabmeat already picked, by the pound

     This family favorite was the recipe I featured in my latest cooking demo for Roanoke's noon show.  To watch, click here - DAYTIME BLUE RIDGE. You'll see it's so easy, so you can get out of the kitchen right quick! Check it out!

RECIPE     ~     CRAB & CORN SOUP  from THE OUTER BANKS COOKBOOK, Elizabeth Wiegand, Globe Pequot Press, 2008. (c)

            Fresh, sweet corn from the farm stands and fresh, sweet crab from the sounds –you can’t get any better than that on the Outer Banks.  Here’s to early summer!  The less expensive backfin crabmeat is perfect for soups.

4 to 6 fresh ears of sweet corn or 3 cups frozen sweet white corn

2 Tablespoons butter

1 onion, finely chopped

¼ cup red pepper, finely chopped

2 small cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

1 pound backfin crabmeat

salt and pepper to taste

GARNISH:  Shredded fresh basil leaves or chopped parsley

OPTION:  ½ cup light or heavy cream, added with the crabmeat

1. Prepare corn by cutting kernels from ears with a sharp knife.  Run the non-sharp side of the knife down the trimmed ear to  “milk” the juice from the remainders of the cob.  Reserve kernels and juice. 
2. In a large soup pot, heat butter over medium low heat.  Add onions and cook slowly until wilted and translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add red pepper and stir for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add garlic, stirring constantly for one minute.
3. Add chicken broth and water.  Bring just to a boil, then add corn and its milk.  Add more water, if necessary, to reach your desired consistency.  Turn heat to low and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until corn is tender. 
4. Add crabmeat (and cream, if you prefer), stir and heat until warm.  Season with salt and pepper. 
5. Garnish each bowl with basil or parsley before serving.

SERVINGS:  6 appetizers

ROASTING RAINBOWS

    Wish we could catch our own rainbow trout, but it's not that easy.  I've spent many a pleasant afternoon hiking up streams or planting myself by a flowing river, taking a nap or reading a book while the hubby casts over and over with high hopes of catching dinner.

    Not a bad way to spend a day, huh?




     And sometimes, we get lucky.  He gets the thrill of reeling one in, and I get the final thrill of a delicious fish for dinner.

     The rule is, he catches, he cleans, I cook.  I'm not into gutting anything!


     






Here's one of his prize catches last year, a brook trout, the only trout that's native to the Blue Ridge.

                                        
                                                                Native Brook Trout


Rainbows, that touted mountain trout, were originally imported to the Blue Ridge!

During the early 1900s, the Blue Ridge mountains were heavily timbered, so much so that the environment was decimated, with heavy soil erosion that ran into streams.  That killed much of the fish.

To make amends, the railroad company brought in trainloads of tanks loaded with rainbow trout from Idaho and Montana, to re-stock the streams of the Blue Ridge.  That's how rainbow trout became our "mountain" trout.  Today, trout farms have ponds where you can catch your own, or we can find rainbow trout in our groceries supplied by Sunburst Trout Farm near Canton, NC and others.

A RECIPE FOR YOU.......

Watch me prepare this recipe for pan-roasted trout with pecans on Daytime Blue Ridge  (click)  with host Natalie Faunce that we taped last week.  

And here's the recipe!

PECAN-ENCRUSTED RAINBOW TROUT  adapted from THE NEW BLUE RIDGE COOKBOOK, by Elizabeth Wiegand, Globe-Pequot Press, 2010.

            Fly fishermen love to practice their casts in the wild streams of the Blue Ridge, where rainbow trout are often stocked.  Or, try catching your own at a trout farm.  Rainbow trout filets are available at most seafood counters.  This is a simple and quick preparation, so have all ingredients ready to go, as well as your side dishes that you'll be serving along with the trout.

4 fillets of rainbow trout - about 4 to 5 ounces each (sea trout is good, too)

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk or buttermilk

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

2 tablespoons minced fresh herbs – choose lemon thyme, regular thyme, parsley, chives or a combination

2 to 3 Tablespoons butter and 2 to 3 Tablespoons olive oil OR 4 tablespoons canola oil

juice of one lemon

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash trout and pat dry.  

2.     Mix flour, cornmeal and salt together on a plate or in a shallow bowl.  In another shallow bowl, whisk together egg and milk.  And in a third shallow bowl or plate, mix the pecans and herbs together.

3.     Press fillets in  the flour mixture on each side, lift, then knock away coating until just a thin haze of the flour/cornmeal is left.  Dip just the skinless side into the egg mixture, then press that side into the pecan mixture. 

4.     In a large, ovenproof sauté pan, (or use 2 pans if filets are large), melt butter and add olive oil, or just heat the canola oil, over medium high heat.  

5.     When hot enough to make a sizzle with water droplets, add trout, skin side up, and sauté for about 2 to 3 minutes, depending on thickness.  Turn fillets over, and saute for another 2 to 3 minutes.  

6.     Slide sauté pans into oven to finish cooking, for about 3 minutes, or until the trout flakes easily with a fork.  Sprinkle with lemon juice and serve immediately.

SERVINGS:  4

QUICK LENTIL STEW

          A Quick Stew seems to be a bit of an oxymoron, doesn't it?  Yet, this lentil stew can be pulled together within an hour, which, all things considered, is not that long.  This stew is built by adding that holy trinity of flavors - onions, carrots and garlic.

Get it going with a quick chop of onions, then while they're cooking, chop the carrots.  After adding them, work on peeling and chopping just two potatoes.  Mince the garlic.  Then add those along with the stock and lentils.  Don't forget to stir in the cumin, salt and pepper at this point.

     Pour yourself a glass of wine, and sip.  We enjoyed a mellow old vine zin with this meal, but a tempranillo or pinot noir would work.  Take a deep breath over the pot, and get a good whiff of the cumin.  Relax, dinner is almost done.
     While you're waiting about 15 minutes for the lentils and potatoes to become tender, cut up the broccoli into small florets.  And if you're doing the sausage version, cut those into bite-sized pieces.

Sip some more wine.  Taste a sample of the stew.  Are the lentils tender? Are the potatoes beginning to break up when pierced with a fork?  Then it's time to add the broccoli and sausage to the pot.  Stir them in, and wait another five minutes until they're heated through.
Meanwhile, chop up a couple of tablespoons of parsley.  This will sharpen up the flavors of the stew, and add more green contrast.  You eat with your eyes as well as your taste and smell, remember.
At the last minute before serving, stir in that chopped parsley.
This is a meal all by itself, but a simple green salad makes a lovely accompaniment.

Wanna see my video from Roanoke's WSLS10 DAYTIME BLUE RIDGE, on making this stew?  Click here
Recipe below.

RED LENTIL AND VEGETABLE STEW adapted from THE NEW BLUE RIDGE COOKBOOK, by Elizabeth Wiegand

            At Basic Necessities, a quaint bistro and market in Nellysford, VA, chef Sally Justice makes vegetarian dishes that have quite a following, especially among the skiers at nearby Wintergreen Resort, says owner Kay Pfaltz.

            I’ve added spicy chicken sausages, and use chicken stock, to make a hearty meal.  You can go completely vegetarian, like Basic Necessities, by omitting the meat and using vegetable stock or bouillon cubes with water.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large carrot, halved lengthwise and sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

5 cups chicken stock (Or use 32 ounces with 1 cup water)

1¼ cups dried red lentils, picked through and rinsed thoroughly

2 medium potatoes, cut into ½” cubes

1 cup broccoli

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried

1 teaspoon salt

freshly group pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon cumin

½ pound kielbasa or spicy chicken sausage

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1.     Heat olive oil in large pot, and sauté onions over low heat for about 10 minutes. 

2.     Add carrots, and sauté for another five minutes.  Stir in garlic and be careful not to burn.

3.     Add chicken stock to the pot and turn heat to medium high.

4.     Add lentils; stir.  Add cubed potatoes to the pot and bring mixture to a boil.

Stir in thyme, salt and cumin.

5.     Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes, until potatoes and carrots are almost cooked and lentils are tender.  Add sausages and broccoli, and continue to cook until sausages are heated through, about another five to 10 minutes.

6.     Stir in parsley, and serve hot.

YIELD:  4 to 5 Servings