Home-Away-from-Home Crab Soup

Inspired by (canned) Blue Crab Norfolk. I actually came up with the recipe after reading the ingredients on a can of soup, named after my home town, that I found in some frou-frou kitchen store. Here's what I used for the soup pictured here, which I made for lunch this past Friday (gotta love Fridays off from work):


2 tbsp olive oil
4 oz. pancetta, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper,chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
2 Russet potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups salted water
6 oz lump crab meat
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup milk
1 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a 4 qt saucepan and saute pancetta about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add green and red bell pepper and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Add chopped onion and cook until softened, about 3-5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in another 4 qt saucepan, cover the diced potatoes with about 4 cups of water, add 1.5 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Boil covered for about 5-7 minutes or until fork tender.

Add potatoes and salted water to the other saucepan and stir. Add crab meat, wine, paprika, more salt (only if needed) and pepper. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add milk and turn off heat. After 2 minutes, stir and serve.

I realized when I took the picture that I also would have done well to stir it one more time after it had been sitting on the table for a few minutes. And I was somewhat ambivalent about the flavor when I ate it fresh. It improved after a day or two in the fridge, but if you don't want to take a chance on it coming out funky, use less wine or skip it. I usually make it with chicken broth and no wine, and it's good both ways.