Carrot Soup with Dungeness Crab

Carrot Soup with Dungeness Crab

Photograph by Leo Gong

SERVES 4
TIME 50 minutes

Ingredients:
2 1/2 tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb. carrots, sliced
1 large bay leaf
2 tbsp. white rice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
6 oz. shelled cooked Dungeness crab (from a 1 1/2-lb. crab)
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. minced chives, plus more for garnish


Directions: 1. In a 5-qt. pot over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add onion, carrots, bay leaf, rice, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until onions are light golden, about 6 minutes.

2. Add 5 cups water and bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until carrots and rice are tender, about 25 minutes. Remove bay leaf.

3. Working in batches, whirl soup in a blender until smooth. Return soup to pot, stir in lemon peel, and keep warm.

4. In a small bowl, mix crab with lemon juice and 1 tbsp. minced chives. Put a mound of crab mixture in the center of each of 4 soup bowls, then ladle soup around crab. Garnish with additional chopped chives.

Serve With Sanford Chardonnay 2008 (Santa Barbara County)