Fontina Vegetable Crab Soup Food

ASPARAGUS (OR BROCCOLI) AND FONTINA CHEESE SOUP

Steps:

• Melt butter & oil in heavy cooking pot, over med-high heat. Sauté onions and celery until tender (~4 min.). Add garlic and sauté ~30 seconds (don't scorch - gets bitter). Add flour, stirring constantly for 1 minute, to cook out raw flour taste. Add water, broth, and Knoor soup base (or substitute bouillon). Stir until smooth. Bring to a gentle boil. Boil for 2 minutes to set the thickening.
• Add diced potatoes, chopped asparagus (or broccoli), salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to med-LOW and simmer for ~25 minutes.
• Puree about ¾ of the soup in a blender in small batches. (Hot soup expands when blended, so fill blender only about 2/3 way full!). I place batches in an intermediary large Pyrex bowl to hold until returning to pot.
• Return blended soup to pot. Stir in half-and-half, soy, and cheeses. Simmer (do NOT BOIL) 5-10 more minutes - stirring often, then taste for seasonings (probably needs a bit more pepper, doubtful it needs more salt - cheese, soup base, and broth are already somewhat salted).

CHEF STUART'S MARYLAND CRAB SOUP

Steps:

• In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, saute the onions, garlic, and celery in the olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the crab boil seasoning, lemon pepper seasoning, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir until all the vegetables are coated with seasoning and spices. Add all the other ingredients except for the crab. Simmer over low heat until potatoes are soft, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• While the soup is cooking, pick through the crab meat just to ensure that all shells are removed. Stir in crab the last 10 minutes of cooking.

TOMATO-FENNEL SOUP WITH CRAB

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the fennel and leeks and season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just tender, about 25 minutes.
• Add the Sambuca and cook until evaporated, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, chicken broth, heavy cream and ½ cup water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat; cook until the fennel is soft, about 15 minutes.
• Working in batches, transfer the soup to a blender and puree until smooth (or puree in the pot with an immersion blender). Return the soup to the pot; return to a simmer and season with salt. Top each serving with the crab and fennel fronds.