Tomato, Fennel, and Crab Soup

Found this recipe when searching for vegan recipes. Although the recipe seems delicious, crab is not vegan.

• Manusca

• Portugal

• 5/28/2016

Found this recipe when searching for vegan recipes. Although the recipe seems delicious, crab is not vegan.

• Manusca

• Portugal

• 5/28/2016

这是奇妙的,虽然两个主要变化suggested by others. 1) add old bay (lots!), oregano and some hot peppers while sautéing veg 2) puree before adding crab. i also used chicken broth rather than veg, but i think either would be fine. loved it.

• ewaltrs

• san francisco, ca

• 10/27/2015

I went for the vegan and skipped the crab and it was still a pretty good soup. Easy and quick to make and just a few things needed to make it. One could easily go from this and add other things, such as white wine or lemon juice and spice it up with other spices. Considering the few ingredients and time you actually put into the dish, I'd say it's a pretty good soup.

• sonius

• Sweden

• 8/9/2015

Okay this is a first for me; reviewing when I haven't made the dish. Have the fennel, got some beautiful San Marzano from the farmers market, and CRAB STOCK in the freezer. Planned on going to the local fish market for fresh crab meat. but now I'm torn whether to proceed. So many bad reviews--even w all the additions I would make. I do love these three ingredients and one would think it would work but huh?? May do something else now. Those San Marzanos are screaming for something special!

• cosmiccook

• New Orleans

• 10/1/2014

Sorry, forgot to add my fork rating...

• stella1313

• Toronto

• 12/21/2013

I just made this as part of a Christmas dinner and it was delicious. I did make some minor adjustments though. I added about 1/2 cup of white wine as well as a pinch of saffron. I used frozen king crab legs, which I steamed. Instead of vegetable stock, I just used some of the steaming water. I then pureed the soup with an immersion blender, and served with chunk crab meat on top. Very flavourful, and delicious!

• stella1313

• Toronto

• 12/21/2013

I've learned that it's a good idea to read comments on a recipe online, and I'm glad I did. Thanks for the help, all. I was sure to use this recipe as a base rather than doing it according to the recipe. Though, I really liked the idea of combining these 3 things. Props for the creativity on the title. On that note, here's what I did: As suggested in the comments, I added some fresh lemon juice, cumin, celery salt & paprika while sauteing the onions, garlic & fennel. I didn't chop anything very fine because I knew I was going to use a blender on everything right after I added the tomatoes, which I did. I blended it to about gazpacho consistency, and it was still a bit watery. If you are blending it, don't add as much vegetable broth. I quit reading the recipe after this. Here are the 2 big things I learned about this recipe if I make it again: (which I will! ...in my own way...) - Quality tomatoes. As suggested, organic, good quality tomatoes. Maybe try fresh heirlooms to minimize the sodium and make it more gardeny? Tomato is the main flavor here, so make it count. - Not quality crab. I live on the coast. Crab is everywhere. I'm not and never will be at a place in wealth where I can use real crab for anything other than a main dish, not an ingredient. I love crab. Very much. But being a poor kid, I actually really like the taste of imitation crab meat. And for those who think it was "too fishy"...maybe you shouldn't scoff at it either. I sauteed it separately in garlic, olive oil and wine and used it as a topping. Added to that a good, whole wheat loaf to use to dip, it was an amazing dish. Then again, I'm someone who likes fake crab. Maybe my taste buds aren't as refined as yours. Good luck, and definitely make this dish your own!

• nomatophobic

• San Diego, CA

• 1/26/2012

I took the Bon Appetite advice and added half a lime's worth of juice to it, plus some white pepper and this came out great for me. My only comment is that while it tasted great, it smelled fishy (and not in a good way) - I'm going to go ahead and agree with some other reviewers that unless you live near the ocean in crab season, you should probably skip this recipe. I found that even the "premium fresh" crab from the supermarket is not good enough for this recipe, and is a waste of a lot of money's worth of crab.

• kirkmichel

• 3/4/2011

This was a huge disappointment and such a waste of expensive crabmeat. I tried modifying it to improve the taste by it could not be salvaged. I will not make it again.

• DLW_

• Boston, MA

• 2/23/2011

the soup was OK. I used homemade veggie stock. But, the fennel overpowered the crab meat. While I like the taste of each ingredient (tomatoes, fennel, fresh veggie stock & crabmeat), they did not marry well. because some of our diners are not crab eaters, we split the batch of soup and only added crab to part. I am glad we did. Otherwise, it would have been a waste of expensive crab. I will take the left over soup and add some spice and see if it can be improved. I hate to throw out good ingredients. I came to this site to see the reviews and gather any ideas for improving the left overs.

• nehill

• boston, ma

• 2/10/2011

Delicious, easy and quick. Now for all the bad reviews, my comment would be that this is a perfect example where you want to showcase the ingredients. A good recipe is made with top quality ingredients and does not need much else that a cook with decent cooking techniques. In this case buy small size fennel; organic canned tomato (Muir Glen is the best) and freshly picked crab meat. Fresh crab does not stink (as some reviewers mentioned) if it does you should return it. It should taste sweet. Don't overcook this soup, add the crab right at the end, season properly (salt pepper maybe some paprika and lemon juice for a little kick). You are done in 10 minutes and it will be delicious.

• faq

• San Diego

• 2/9/2011

Very good with 2 tablespoons of heavy cream just before you add the crabmeat. It becomes a chowder of sorts.

• connie_g

• Raleigh, NC

• 1/26/2011

I would have to agree with a lot of the comments about the soup, as written, needing ... something. I think using really good stock is key. I also added quite a bit of Old Bay, until it was tasting zesty, as well as some fresh parsley. Also, I really like thick, creamy soups, so I used an immersion blender prior to adding the crab. It was not fully pureed; there was still had a lot of texture from the fennel, but it was a lot thicker and richer. From there, I folded in the crab and let it simmer to warm the crab through. We had it with a warm baguette and thought it was great. Note: I could not find fresh crab at the market and ended up using canned lump crabmeat. For those concerned about the cost of the soup, I think the canned worked well as a less expensive substitute here, much to my surprise.

• KK108

• Washington, DC

• 1/26/2011

I made this before reviewing the comments. Agreed - it can use some oomph. I added celery and Creole seasoning and that made significant improvement. It's still quite easy and I'd definitely make it again with the adjustments.

• toochie1

• Los Osos, CA

• 1/19/2011