Turtle Soup

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This turtle soup is a mild creamy soup recipe. I served it as part of a birthday dinner for my husband, Danny.  The variation of this soup comes from a cookbook created from a series of mystery novels written by Rex Stout, called Nero Wolf.  In this series of books, the character, Nero Wolf was an old gumshoe detective in the 1930s-50s, who had a passion for gourmet food.  In the books, his chef, Fritz made many of Nero’s favorite dishes.  Rex Stout went into such detail about his character’s food, that a cookbook was written in response to so many readers wanting to “eat like Nero Wolf”.  A variation of this recipe is in the book, but I’ve put my own spin on it.  I think Nero Wolf would have loved the soup, and I think you will too!!

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Turtle Soup with Cream Sherry
Yields 12
This turtle soup is a mild creamy soup recipe. I served it as part of a birthday dinner for my husband, Danny. The variation of this soup comes from a cookbook created from a series of mystery novels written by Rex Stout, called Nero Wolf. In this series of books, the character, Nero Wolf was an old gumshoe detective in the 1930s-50s, who had a passion for gourmet food. In the books, his chef, Fritz made many of Nero's favorite dishes. Rex Stout went into such detail about his character's food, that a cookbook was written in response to so many readers wanting to "eat like Nero Wolf". A variation of this recipe is in the book, but I've put my own spin on it. I think Nero Wolf would have loved the soup, and I think you will too!!
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Ingredients
  1. 3 pounds Turtle Meat
  2. 2 Shallots
  3. 1 Leek
  4. 4 Russet Potatoes
  5. 2 Carrots
  6. 1 Tbs. Kosher Salt
  7. 2 Cloves Garlic
  8. 1 Tbs. Garlic Powder
  9. 1 Tbs. Onion Powder
  10. 1 tsp. Ground White Pepper
  11. 1 tsp. Celery Seed
  12. 1/2 tsp. Ground Cayenne Pepper
  13. 1 Bay Leaf
  14. 4 Sprigs Fresh Thyme, remove stems and keep leaves
  15. 5 Tbs. Butter
  16. 8 Cups Chicken Stock
  17. 1 cup Heavy Cream
  18. 4 Tbs. Cornstarch
  19. 3/4 cup Cream Sherry
  20. 1/3 cup Grape Seed Oil (or canola or vegetable oil)
Instructions
  1. Dice turtle meat into 1/2 inch pieces, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
  2. Mince the shallots, and garlic cloves, set aside.
  3. Clean and chop the leek, white part only into small dice, and add to the shallots and garlic, set aside.
  4. In a large soup pot, heat the oil, over medium high heat and add the turtle meat.
  5. Brown the turtle meat, for 5 minutes, then add the shallots, minced garlic and leeks, and sauté 5 minutes longer.
  6. Pour in the chicken stock, kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper, celery seed, cayenne pepper, bay leaf, and thyme leaves.
  7. Bring the pot to a boil, then turn down very low heat and simmer for about an 60 minutes, until the turtle begins to soften.
  8. While the turtle is simmering, peel and dice carrots into small dice, add to a bowl, and set aside.
  9. Peel and cut potatoes into small dice, add to the bowl.
  10. Melt the butter in a large frying pan, over medium heat and add the diced potatoes and carrots, and sauté for about 5 minutes.
  11. Sprinkle the vegetables with the corn starch, and stir.
  12. Then pour in the sherry and stir until the cornstarch is incorporated.
  13. Pour this into the stock pot with the turtle and stir until the soup is thickened, and bring to a medium simmer.
  14. Once the potatoes and carrots are fork tender (about 7 minutes), turn down the heat to low, and add the heavy cream.
  15. Heat through and check for any additional salt and/or pepper.
  16. Serve with oyster crackers.
Adapted from Nero Wolf Cookbook by Rex Stout
Adapted from Nero Wolf Cookbook by Rex Stout
He Hunts She Cooks http://hehuntsshecooks.com/