Crab soup

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 800 g North Sea crabs with shell
• 1 bunch of soup vegetables
• 1.2 liters of water
• 100 g butter
• 1 onion(s)
• 1 ½ tbsp tomato paste
• 100 g flour, sifted
• 200 ml white wine
• ½ lemon(s), juice
• 1 ½ tbsp cognac
• 200 ml cream
• 2 pinches of sugar
• salt and pepper
• some vegetable broth

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 10 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 40 minutes

Typically North German

Peel the crabs and set the crab meat aside. Wash the soup vegetables and chop them into large pieces. Bring the vegetables and crab shells to a boil in a large pot with 1.2 liters of water. Simmer gently over low heat for at least 1 hour. Then pour through a fine sieve and collect the stock in a saucepan. Finely dice the onion. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and tomato paste and sauté briefly, then add the sifted flour and cook for about 3 minutes until golden brown, stirring constantly. Now gradually add the white wine and the stock alternately, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Bring to a boil briefly, then add the juice of half a lemon, the cream, and the cognac. Remove the pot from the heat and season the soup with sugar, salt, pepper, and vegetable stock. Finally, add the crab meat to the soup and let it heat through. If you like, you can garnish the soup with a dollop of cream and dill.