South Carolina She-Crab Soup

Last year, you may or may not remember me telling you about my holiday to America where I visited North and South Carolina as well as Boston and New York City. I had all these wild ideas about posting about my trip and including recipes from some of the local cuisine that I had. 
I have had a few plans for this blog in my time that have often started out with the best intentions and then have died a slow death. What I am trying to say is, it might be a while between holiday posts but I wanted to share a little bite of the trip with you this week because I finally got around to sorting through my photos from Charleston and The Bay of Palms in the South Carolina Lowcountry. 
This was a major highlight of the holiday for me - not only because we were there to attend the wedding of some very good friends of ours, but because of the sheer beauty, beyond friendly people and relaxed atmosphere that we experienced.

Oh, I also made the area's local delicacy the other day: She-Crab Soup. I can't vouch for the "She" part of the recipe but tasting it instantly brought me back to that amazing time last year. 

The top part of this photo is the view driving from Charleston into The Bay of Palms. See all the green marshland? That is sweet-grass and the locals turn it into beautiful baskets. My friend Sarah (the one whose wedding we were there for) gave all the guests mini sweet-grass baskets to bring home. Thankfully, Australia's Quarantine & Customs Services were totally fine with it. 

We stayed in this INSANE beach house for the week leading up to the wedding with a bunch of the guests. Here is the view from the balcony. Many fun times were spent in that pool.

Charleston is full of beautiful restaurants and the visiting Aussies descended upon them with gusto that week. Here is Poogan's Porch. This is where I tried She-Crab Soup for the first time. It is also where I tried Alligator and Fried Green Tomatoes...lots of delicious firsts.

This is a Palmetto Tree which is on the state flag of South Carolina. Walking through Charleston makes you feel as if you are stepping on to the set of a romantic Southern movie.

I got up early one morning to see the sun rise over the Atlantic - I had a bit of a moment...

The wedding was at historic Lowndes Grove Plantation. It was such a beautiful wedding - there was shrimp 'n' grits, local beer, dancing and Aussies and Americans celebrating together. It was so much fun.

Now for the soup. She-Crab Soup is a very well-known delicacy in the South Carolina Lowcountry and something you should definitely try if you should ever visit. It is a very rich soup (not unlike a bisque) and is full of milk and cream which is flavoured with mace and sherry. Traditionally it is made using female Atlantic Blue(She)Crab meat including the orange roe - but I was not able/didn't try to find a "She-Crab" or its roe here in Sydney. I just used spanner crab meat - and a lot of it. 
I got the recipe from a cookbook that I bought in Charleston called "Charleston Receipts" (that is not a typo, it was their word for 'recipes' at the time) which contains hundreds of traditional Lowcountry recipes dating back to the Civil War. 

I can't think of a better way to bring back the memory of that amazing place.

South Carolina She-Crab Soup
Adapted from Charleston Receipts

4 blades of mace

1 teaspoon sea salt

White pepper corns – about 1 teaspoon

1 tablespoon butter

2 teaspoons flour

800mls milk

½ cup cream

3 ribs grated celery

2 cups freshly picked white crab meat

½ cup breadcrumbs

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

4 tablespoons dry sherry

Smoked paprika and olive oil to garnish

In a mortar and pestle or in a spice grinder, bash (or process the mace, salt and pepper until finely ground.

Melt the butter in a double boiler over boiling water. Add the flour and stir until smooth to form a roux. Add the mace, pepper, salt, and stir to combine. Slowly add the milk, whisking it constantly into the roux. Add the cream and celery and stir.

Simmer and stir for around 7 minutes until the soup begins to thicken. Add the crabmeat, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce and simmer over the double boiler with a lid on for around ½ an hour.   

Add the sherry and stir before transferring to bowls. Serve topped with a sprinkle of paprika, a drizzle of olive oil and with some crusty bread.