For as long as I can remember, pasta has always been my favorite food. Spaghetti with tomato sauce, pasta salad, macaroni and cheese — if there’s pasta in it, I love it.
But what does that have to do with this soup? Well, after I noticed snow crab was on sale, I brought home a pound intended for the soup. But while standing at my kitchen counter, shelling the crab, sneaking bites here and there, I had to admit that crab legs are actually the best thing in the entire world. Sorry, noodles, you’ve been knocked down a peg.
It took a lot of self control to set aside enough crab meat to garnish the soup, but I did it.
Smokey Corn and Sweet Crab Soup
1 pound snow crab legs, thawed
6 ears sweet corn, kernels removed
5 cups water
1 cup 2 percent milk
1 tablespoon liquid smoke
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Using kitchen shears, shell the crab. Chop the crab meat, place it in a small bowl, and set aside.
Combine the crab shells, corn, water, and red pepper in a medium-sized stockpot over high heat. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the corn is tender. Remove and discard the crab shells.
Remove half the corn mixture to a blender and blend until smooth (remove the center piece of the blender’s lid to allow steam to escape, but cover it with a kitchen towel to avoid splatters). Return it to the pot, stir in milk and season with salt and pepper. Add crabmeat and serve, garnishing with parsley.
