Turtle soup: recipe with photo

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Turtle soup is an exotic dish popular in many world resorts. Moreover, some tourists visit certain places specifically to try this dish. It has a specific rich taste that distinguishes it from other products of national cuisines.

Turtle meat is quite tough, so it must be processed for a long time. However, it is not necessary to go anywhere to try turtle soup (see photo in the article). It is quite possible to cook it yourself if you find all the necessary ingredients. With the many gourmet shops that have popped up in recent times, this shouldn't be a problem.

Turtle soup recipe

You will need the following ingredients:

• 750 grams of fresh turtle meat (thawed);
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil;
• 1-1/2 tablespoons Creole Seafood Seasoning;
• 1-1/2 tablespoons Creole seasoning for meat;
• 1 cup finely chopped onion;
• 1 cup green pepper, finely chopped;
• 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped;
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic;
• 1/2 tablespoonchopped dry thyme;
• 2 bay leaves;
• 8 cups uns alted beef or veal broth;
• 3/4 cup tomato patsa;
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil;
• 1/2 cup flour;
• 1 cup dry sherry;
• 2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce (chili or similar);
• 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce;
• juice of one lemon;
• 150 grams fresh spinach, stemless, finely chopped;
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped;
• dry sherry for garnish (optional).

How to cook this dish

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large saucepan over low heat. Sauté the turtle meat with the meat and seafood seasonings for about 20 minutes. Add bell pepper, onion, celery and garlic, stirring constantly. Then add the thyme and bay leaf, lower the heat and sauté (stirring frequently) for another 20-25 minutes, or until the ingredients are soft.

Add broth and tomato paste, bring turtle soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for half an hour, periodically skimming off any fat that will rise to the surface with a spoon.

Soup Dressing

Continuing to follow the instructions on how to make turtle soup, you must make the dressing. Heat 1/2 cup oil over medium heat in a small saucepan. Gradually add flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Be careful not to burn the mixture. Afterthe flour is evenly mixed, cook the dressing for about 3 minutes until it smells of nuts and has the consistency of wet sand.

Use a whisk to vigorously mix the dressing into the soup, try to completely prevent lumps. Simmer the turtle soup over low heat for about 25 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent the ingredients from sticking to the bottom.

Add sherry and bring to a boil. Pour in the pepper sauce and Worcestershire, lower the heat and simmer the soup for another 30 minutes or until the starchy taste is gone. In doing so, you must continue to skim off any fat or foam that will form on the surface.

Add lemon juice, bring back to a boil and continue cooking for longer, 15 to 20 minutes. After that, put the spinach and chopped egg. Adjust the amount of seasoning and s alt to your liking. Remove the bay leaf before you serve the cooked turtle soup into bowls or bowls. Many restaurant recipes include adding a teaspoon or two of sherry to each plate for more flavor.

As you can see, this dish takes a long time to cook. However, the results are quite justified. In addition, there is another well-known version of how to cook turtle soup.

Ingredients for the second version

• 150 grams of butter;
• 1.2 kg turtle meat, cut into smallin pieces;
• s alt and freshly ground pepper;
• 2 medium onions cut into medium slices;
• 6 celery stalks, chopped;
• 30 garlic cloves, minced;
• 3 bell peppers, chopped;
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme;
• 1 tablespoon dried, ground oregano;
• 4 bay leaves;
• 2 liters of veal stock;
• 1 cup flour;
• 750 ml dry sherry;
• 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce;
• a quarter cup of Worcestershire sauce;
• 2 large lemons, juicy;
• 3 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes;
• 350 grams fresh spinach, coarsely chopped;
• 6 hard-boiled eggs, cut into large pieces.

Cooking process

In a large soup pot at high temperature, melt 50 grams of butter. Add the turtle meat and fry until browned, season as desired with s alt and pepper. Simmer for about 18-20 minutes, then add the onion, garlic, celery and pepper to the meat and mix everything thoroughly. Add thyme, oregano, bay leaf and saute for about 22 minutes. Pour in the broth, bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes, skimming the surface fat.

Cook the flour dressing and remaining butter in a separate saucepan. Do not keep it on fire for more than three minutes, in this short time you should knead the mixture well and avoid the formation of lumps. Then cautiousGradually pour the dressing into the turtle soup, stirring constantly. After all the ingredients are well mixed, cook the dish over low heat for about 25 minutes. Stir constantly to prevent scorching, then slowly pour in the sherry, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces. Continue to cook over low heat, skimming the foam from the top, gradually add the lemon juice and tomatoes, then increase the heat on the stove to high.

Bring the dish to a boil, then put in the spinach and eggs. Boil for a few more minutes, then adjust the amount of spices to your liking.

Helpful tips

Both of the above turtle soup recipes include caramelization of vegetables and meat. This means that all the ingredients in the cooking process will acquire a rich dark color. There is no need to be afraid of this, it should be so.

You can make your own Worcestershire sauce at home with vinegar, soy sauce, onion, garlic and spices. Tabasco sauce can be substituted for chili sauce. If you want to use Tabasco Habanero Sauce, you will need less of it as its sharpness is much stronger.

Things to keep in mind

Speaking about how to cook turtle soup, we recommend that you remember that the meat of this animal is quite tough and rough. For this reason, you should not deviate from the cooking time indicated in the recipes. Otherwise, you can get hard and not sodelicious meat in soup.

Turtle soup (pictured above) can be divided into two separate dishes before serving. To do this, you need to get the meat from the soup and serve it separately with a side dish for the second.