Crab Potato Chowder

It's no overstatement to say how good this creamy, rich and delicious  Crab Potato Chowder is. A perfect fuel during cold evenings is a big bowl of piping hot chowder as part of our hearty dinner during fall/ winter. The garlic and mushroom combined flavors seems to pop on your tongue as you sip. This soup recipe saves you the hassle of making the broth and doesn't require extra time of your work; hence its almost an instant soup method. 

When boys craved for clam chowder and crab meat came handy to prepare this creamy and delicious Crab Chowder. As you must be aware that Chowder's and potatoes go hand in hand always, so is this one. The taste inducing mushrooms is my all time secret ingredient to any dish which requires or accepts its flavor harmoniously.  

Have a gathering with both vegetarians and meat lovers? No hassle, this soup would do the trick for you. The meat is added only as the last step, so reserve some for your vegetarian guests and then add the meat vola!

The thick consistency is created with roux, which sets as the base sauce for this soup. Roux is nothing but a thickening agent, a mix of fat (in this case its butter) and flour on heat stirring continuously. Once this mixture is roasted well, the raw flour odour dissipates and prevents lump formation. Pour in the milk to whisk until well combined. This roux is used to make alfredo sauce as well. 

I keep my roux light colored to retain the sauce with the light hue. You may brown it when using for a brown sauce like traditional American turkey gravy. 

Tried replacing the all purpose flour with wheat flour and it didn't turn out as I expected. The consistency of the soup and the flavor differs by doing so. I would highly recommend you stick to all purpose or maida only.

Additional options for vegetarians to name a few are sweet corn, leeks and celery. I like my chowder paired with homemade dinner biscuits. Let's jump straight into the recipe to prepare and relish this Crab Potato Chowder.

 PREP TIME

0 mins

COOK TIME

15 mins

TOTAL TIME

15 mins

Category: Soup

Cuisine: American
Level: Easy

Serves: 4 bowls/ 2 measuring cups each

Nutrition Facts
Servings 4.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 154
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 7 g	11 %
Saturated Fat 4 g	21 %
Monounsaturated Fat 1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 24 mg	8 %
Sodium 374 mg	16 %
Potassium 301 mg	9 %
Total Carbohydrate 16 g	5 %
Dietary Fiber 1 g	3 %
Sugars 3 g
Protein 7 g	15 %
Vitamin A	19 %
Vitamin C	12 %
Calcium	12 %
Iron	4 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

INGREDIENTS

1. Crab meat (real and cooked)- 1.5 cups
2. Potato - small - 5 yellow or medium (peeled, cubed small)
3. Mushroom - 2 nos finely chopped for flavor (used Shitakii)
4. Butter - 2 teaspoons
5. All purpose flour (organic and unbleached)/ maida - 4 tablespoons
6. Milk - 1 cup (used organic A2 milk)
7. Heavy cream - 2 tablespoons
8. Water - 2 cups (approximately)
9. Garlic salt to taste
10. Italian parsley(dried) - 2 dashes
11. Ground black pepper - 3/4 teaspoon

DIRECTIONS

1. In a wide pan on medium heat flame, add the butter. Toss in your potatoes and finely chopped mushroom. Cook it until your potatoes are soft to pierce through a fork. Fish off your potatoes and mushrooms reserving the flavored melted butter in the pan. 

2. Sprinkle the flour and whisk it with the melted butter to prepare the roux. Continue stirring until the raw small of the flour dissipates. Making sure you don't over roast it to change the light color of your roux. 

3. Stir in the milk and whisk until well combined and bring it to a boil. as you see it bubbling, whisk in the heavy cream and set the heat to low. 

4. Add in your cooked potatoes, mushrooms and sprinkle the garlic salt, dried italian parsley and black pepper. Mix all the flavors well.

5. Set the heat to medium and pour the required water and whisk to retain the soupy consistency. Allow it to heat through and add the crab meat stirring gently to cook for 2-3 mins as the crab is precooked. 

6. Garnish with more dried herbs and freshly ground pepper and serve immediately in a bowl or bread bowl. 

NOTES AND TIPS

• Crab meat is usually cooked, if using fresh crab, boil the crab with its shell and peel to add to your soup.
• Add crab meat as your last step to avoid over cooking as they tend to break apart in your soup as you keep stirring.