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Turtle Soup

Category: Gumbos, Soups, and Bisques

Serving Size: 16 appetizer servings or 8 main-dish servings

Turtle Soup

As featured in Brennan's New Orleans Cookbook !

1

Instructions

  • Over medium-high heat, melt the butter in a heavy 7-quart saucepan.
  • Add the turtle meat and garlic.
  • Cook until the meat is no longer pink, about five minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Stir in the onions, celery, sweet peppers, kosher salt, and pepper.
  • Cook until the vegetables start to become translucent, about 10 minutes.
  • Add the tomatoes and cook about five minutes, stirring often so the bottom of the pan does not scorch.
  • Reduce the heat to medium.
  • Dust the vegetables with the flour and cook five minutes, stirring constantly and scraping the pan bottom clean so the flour does not burn.
  • Slowly add the stock, stirring and scraping the pan bottom constantly to prevent dough balls from forming in the soup.
  • Stir in the worcestershire, pepper sauce, parsley and thyme.
  • Simmer 30 minutes.
  • Add the eggs, spinach, lemon zest, lemon juice and sherry.
  • Continue simmering 10 minutes more.

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 pounds turtle meat, trimmed of all sinew and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
  • 8 cloves garlicminced
  • 2 medium-size onions, chopped fine
  • 4 stalks celery, chopped fine
  • 2 medium-size green peppers, chopped fine
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus to taste
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 medium-size Creole tomatoes, seeded and chopped fine
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 quarts beef stock
  • 1 cup worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons Crystal brand pepper sauce, or other relatively mild pepper sauce
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian (flat-leaf) parsley leaves
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • 5 large eggs, hard-boiled, chopped fine
  • 6 ounces fresh spinach, washed, stemmed and leaves sliced fine
  • zest from 3 lemons, chopped fine
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup good-quality sherry