Porrnsupp from North Freesland

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 750 g North Sea crabs, unpulled
• 40 g butter
• ½ fennel bulb(s), cut into fine strips
• 1 small carrot(s), finely sliced
• 2 shallots, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium-sized tomato(s), roughly diced
• 25 g tomato paste
• 1 liter vegetable broth, clear
• 2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
• 5 peppercorns, black
• 5 allspice berries
• some saffron threads, approx. 4 – 5
• n. B. Sea salt and pepper, black
• 100 ml cream, whipped until stiff
• ½ bunch of dill, if not available, replace with flat-leaf parsley
• 50 g butter
• 50 g wheat flour type 405
• 100 ml cream

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 3 hours

Classic crab soup from North Frisia in Fiefhusener style

A quick note: Porrn has nothing to do with pornography, but is the common term in North Frisia for North Sea crabs (“Porrn” or “Poorn”). “Krabben” is only colloquially correct, however, because it’s a type of shrimp and actually means “garnet.” We like to have this soup after visits to the North Sea, such as Büsum, Friedrichskoog, Tönning, or Husum. The recipe only works if you get unpeeled crabs with their shells and then peel them yourself. Some good fishmongers can also provide them and get the really good ones, peeled crabs and the empty shells separately for the soup base. Peeling yourself is like yoga – try it. Put the crab meat in the refrigerator. Clean the fennel, halve it, and cut into thin strips. Also clean the carrot and cut into thin slices. Cut out the stem of the tomato and roughly dice the flesh. Peel and roughly chop the shallots. Make several slits in the central vein of the bay leaves (like a feather). Melt the butter over high heat until bubbles form, but the butter does not brown or burn. First, add the shallots and tomato paste and stir until translucent. Add the fennel, carrot, tomato, and crab shells and sauté everything for about 3 minutes, stirring continuously. Deglaze with the hot vegetable stock and add the pepper, allspice, bay leaves, and saffron. Bring to a boil once, reduce the heat to a maximum of 1/3, and simmer the soup base gently with the lid on for 45 minutes to an hour. Then strain the contents of the pot through a fine sieve and keep the liquid warm in the pot. In a second pot, melt the butter (about 3/4 heat) until bubbles form again and the butter just begins to brown. Add the flour and whisk continuously until smooth but only slightly browned. Gradually add the hot soup base, stirring continuously to avoid lumps. Once all the liquid has been added, simmer gently for 3 minutes at a lower heat, stirring occasionally. This is necessary to remove the flour flavor and achieve a thickening consistency. If the soup thickens too much, simply add more stock to adjust the consistency to your desired consistency. Add the liquid cream and season with freshly ground sea salt and pepper. Finely chop the dill and whip the cream with a mixer until stiff peaks form. Divide half of the crab meat evenly among the prepared soup bowls. Ladle over the seasoned soup. Finally, carefully divide the second half of the crab meat among the bowls, very gently so the crab stays on the surface. Place a dollop of whipped cream in the center of the plate and grind a pinch of pepper over the whipped cream. Finally, garnish with chopped dill and serve quickly. TIP: Never cook the crabs, as this will ruin them and give them the consistency of window putty. Always add them just before serving and let them absorb as little heat as possible. There are good videos online on how to peel crabs; just let your search engine do the work. At a fish shop on the West Coast, you can even get a live demonstration from a “Höker” (salesperson). NOTE: “Porrn sün bannich düür”! = Crabs are very expensive! Furthermore, they are already heavily overfished and not really caught sustainably. Nevertheless, they are a true and incredibly expensive delicacy. Just like other endangered marine species such as spiny dogfish, eel, sole, cod, and others, it should be consumed only in moderation and from sustainable catches (where possible). A wealth of information is available on the NABU Schleswig-Holstein website.