She-Crab Soup

This is THE soup of Coastal Virginia and it is so yummy!  It is so well loved that the city of Virginia Beach even has a She-Crab soup festival every spring when up to twenty restaurant vie to be voted as having the best.

She-Crab Soup

2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups white crab stock, recipe follows
2 cups milk
1 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons paprika
1 pound cooked Atlantic Blue crab meat, divided
1 4-ounce jab crab roe, divided -or-

1/2 cup fresh crab roe
Salt and pepper, to taste

Garnish: Dry sherry, chopped chives and French bread

Melt butter in a stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion and bay leaf, sweat down for two minutes until translucent. Sprinkle in the flour and stir until it dissolves.

Whisk in the stock, stirring constantly until smooth and free of lumps. Gradually pour in the milk, cream, and paprika; continue to stir until incorporated.

Add half the crab meat and roe. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes until thick and heated through.

To serve, divide a tablespoon of sherry among 4 bowls. Ladle the soup into the bowls, spooning the remaining crab meat and roe in the center of each. Garnish with chopped chives. Serve with crusty French bread.

Note:  You can buy Blue crab meat at the most stores. Crab roe is a little harder to find; some good fish markets may have it, but you can get it online in jars too.