Jeff and I like to have fun with our Super Bowl eats every year, creating a team-themed menu that represents cuisine from each of the two teams’ regions. Super Bowl XLVII saw a match-up between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens, so we immediately thought “crab” and “sourdough” — but we haven’t had success yet at making crab cakes. A little bit of research solved the problem when I discovered that crab soup is another classic Baltimore dish.
According to the articles I read, Maryland style crab soup is tomato-based, unlike a New England style creamy chowder. Not surprising, there are a ton of recipe variations out there for this dish, but I opted to go with one from a Baltimore, Maryland culinary institution — Old Bay. This classic soup could not be easier to make. It’s filled with a couple handfuls of simple inexpensive ingredients from your pantry and freezer….plus crab, which is not cheap, at least out here in So Cal ($20 for enough crab meat to make just 1/2 a batch of soup). For convenience, we chose vacuum-packed crab meat instead of shelling the fresh or frozen stuff.
This dish was quick to throw together, and is ridiculously lean and healthy. The flavor is subtle but hearty. Since we needed to pair it with a San Francisco culinary item, we served our crab soup in sourdough bread bowls, however this soup has too thin a broth for bread bowls…all the broth got sopped up into the bread almost immediately after serving. Save your bread bowls for thicker cream-based soups, and instead serve this crab soup with a slice of crusty bread on the side.
- 1 can (28 ounces) petite diced tomatoes (original recipe call for canned whole tomatoes, cut into small pieces)
- 3 cups water
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 cup lima beans, frozen
- 1 cup baby carrots, sliced
- 1 cup yellow sweet corn, frozen
- 2 tablespoons McCormick® Chopped Onions
- 1 tablespoon OLD BAY® Seasoning
- 1 pound crabmeat
- Combine tomatoes, water, broth, lima beans, carrots, corn, onions and OLD BAY in 4-quart saucepan.
- Bring to boil on medium heat. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 5 minutes.
- Add crabmeat.
- Cover and simmer 10 minutes.
This is a wonderful crab soup recipe, just like my mother’s.
I was born and raised in Baltimore; Old Bay Seasoning has a great crab cake recipe on their site. The key to a tasty crabcake is: be gentle with the crab meat, always use white bread and not crackers or dry bread crumbs. Don’t overwork the mixture. Lastly, refrigerate the formed crabcakes at least 30 minutes before cooking. Broil or fry 4-5 minutes on each side. Or, bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, turn and bake another 15 minutes.
I am new to your website but will definitely be trying recipes. Thank you so much!