Chilled Zucchini Soup with Dungeness Crab

Chilled Zucchini Soup
🦀 With Dungeness Crab 🦀

Zucchini is a popular and bountiful summer crop loved for its mild flavor and culinary versatility. But, unfortunately, by itself, zucchini can be a bit boring. Enter crab, Dungeness crab…with its sweet, succulent, ocean-y taste. Here, shredded crabmeat in a lemony mayonnaise mixture pairs with the silky zucchini soup for a stunning summer potage.

Zucchini Soup with Dungeness Crab Recipe

Chilled Zucchini Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 T. butter
• 1 1/2 T. olive oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 1/2 lbs. medium zucchini, sliced into half-moons
• 1 1/2 c. chicken stock
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper
• 2 T. lemon juice
• 1/3 c. cream

Method:

Melt butter with olive oil in a soup pot. Add onion and garlic and sauté over medium heat until softened. Add zucchini and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add chicken stock, raise heat and bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 more minutes. Remove from heat, let cool to 170°F, then purée the mixture. (I use a Vitamix which is designed to blend hot liquids safely and results in a silky-smooth texture). Add salt and pepper to taste. Leave the soup in the blender and let come to room temperature, stirring occasionally to help it cool. Then place the blender in the refrigerator until well-chilled.

When ready to serve, add lemon juice and cream to the soup. Blend again briefly to combine.

Dungeness Crab

• crabmeat
• mayonnaise
• sour cream
• lemon juice
• lemon zest
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Mix equal parts mayonnaise and sour cream with a squeeze of lemon juice and some lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper. Go easy on the salt as crabs are naturally salty.

Because Dungeness crab is extremely perishable when raw, the crabs have been pre-cooked prior to shipment. Since frozen Dungeness crab is already cooked, simply thaw in the refrigerator prior to serving the soup. Use the crab as soon as it is defrosted.

Remove the shoulder meat and leg meat from the shells. Roughly shred the leg meat by hand.

Mix the crabmeat with just enough of the mayonnaise mixture to hold it all together. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To Plate:

• black pepper
• fruity olive oil
• lemon, sliced
• micro greens or fresh herbs

Pour cold soup into bowls. Top with a few grinds of black pepper. Drizzle with olive oil. Mound crabmeat in the center. Garnish with lemon and micro greens.

More Zucchini

Amalfi-Style Spaghetti with Zucchini here

Sundubu Jjigae ~ Korean Soft Tofu Stew with Zucchini here

Squash Blossom Flatbread Pizza here

Zucchini “Pappardelle” with Avocado Cream here

More Dungy

Dungeness Crab Nigiri here

Dungeness Crab and Avocado Rice Bowl here

Fire-Roasted Aguachile with Spot Shrimp and Dungeness Crab here