Creole Turtle Soup

Turtle Soup

                               is a classic in both Asia and the United States, especially so in the Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland environs (which we found odd, given that we're from those states and we had first tried the dish in New Orleans. Naturellement.). Snapping turtle seems to have been (and still are) the choicest kind for the Americans, and the Asian chefs tend to use soft-shell turtles, given that hard-shelled turtles (龜) have ties to Asian myth and lore and so are generally kept alive (this does not exclude them from every dish, however). 

Turtles shells were famously known to have been used for storage and the Greeks used them to make lyres.

Cookbooks of the 19th century advised choosing a turtle of 120 lbs., explaining that a smaller turtle would not be fat enough, and a larger turtle would possess an overpowering flavor. We're unsure of the weight of our guest of honor. The meal is illegal in some places because turtles reproduce so slowly that measures must be put in place to keep their populations healthy. Indeed, it isn't a very common meat to find, so check your local laws and keep an eye on your neighborhood Asian markets. We decided to prepare the dish in the Creole style common in New Orleans, as that was the first time we had a chance to try it (at Muriel's on the corner of Jackson Square). The dish is rich and creamy, like a silky gumbo leaning towards tomato soup. The chopped hardboiled eggs add a thicker texture, the parsley adds the proper je-ne-sais-quoi, and the golden sherry is a must. As for music, something slightly devilish, as this is a rather decadent, sin-inspiring meal. 

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Begin with 1/2 lb to 1 1/2 lb turtle meat. Put in stock pot and cover with water 2 inches above the meat. Bring to a boil, then drop to low simmer while adding 1 tbsp of salt and 4-6 bay leaves. Simmer until the water levels out to the top of the meat. Strain and keep the liquid. Coarse chop the meat into bite-size bits and set aside. Melt 8 tbsp of butter (1 whole stick), and whisk in 3/4 a cup of flour to make a roux. Once the roux is done, slowly add the turtle stock gradually to the roux, whisking until desired thickness is achieved. 
In a saute pan, add 2 chopped sticks of celery, 1 diced green bell pepper, 2 diced shallots (or one whole onion), and 1 diced portabella mushroom. Cook over medium heat for 5(ish) minutes. To same saute pan add 4 minced cloves of garlic. Cook 3(ish) minutes. Add to the roux. Add 18 oz. of crushed tomatoes, turtle meat, 3 tsp. of cayenne pepper, 1 1/2 tsp paprika, a tiny dash of cinnamon (we emphasize tiny!). Drizzle in condensed milk to taste to dilute the spice. Stir and let simmer while hard boiling 1 egg for each serving. Once properly hard boiled, rough dice each egg. After plating each bowl with soup, add rough diced hard boiled egg, lemon juice, and lemon zest to all bowls. Salt and pepper, then sherry to taste; finally, finish off with parsley to taste.

 *Kaiseki (懐石料理) - We hollowed out eggs and left the shells intact, apart from a pinhole on one end. Then we filled the eggs halfway with sherry and placed them in the corner of the soup, oculus up and parslied. When serving, tip the egg over the stew, pouring out the sherry, or (if you are more dexterous) crack the egg - be wary of loose and broken shell.

  ~Ciao & Bon Appétit.