New Orleans Style Creole Turtle Soup Recipe

    Growing up in southern Louisiana, with my roots in the heart in Cajun country, I learned to make gumbo, étouffée, Couvillion and fricassee by watching my mom.  Each of these recipes have common ingredients—the "trinity," which is chopped onion, bell pepper and celery, as well as garlic and most have a roux, which is flour cooked in oil to the desired color.  For gumbos, you want a dark roux.  For étouffée and Couvillion, you want a "blond" roux.  And I learned early that you NEVER EVER walk away while cooking a roux.  

    While we were dating, I learned that my husband's favorite soup in the world is Creole Turtle Soup from any of the Brennan's family restaurants in New Orleans.  I did not care for my first taste of it and I think the reason is that while it has all of the main ingredients in any Louisiana stew or soup, it has a more eclectic flavor profile.  In creole cooking, butter is often used in roux.  The recipe also uses a large amount of Worcestershire sauce and lemon—two other creole staples.  The cooking method is very much the same as other Cajun French style dishes which results in a deep colored, rich and thick combination of a soup and stew.  

New Orleans Style Creole Turtle Soup 

Serves 6 (or 4 hungry Cajuns)

Ingredients:

1 pound diced Louisiana Snapping turtle meat* 
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 bay leaf
8 cups beef stock
3/4 cup flour
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 18-ounce can crushed tomatoes
6 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoon paprika
2 tablespoons Crystal hot sauce
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Zest from 2 lemons
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
Salt and Black pepper to taste
1/4 cup Dry sherry
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
Optional-handful of fresh spinach, chopped

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil and butter in a stock pot and add turtle meat and garlic.  Brown the meat and add onion, celery, bell pepper.  Cook until vegetables are soft and any liquid is evaporated—about 10 minutes.
2. Add the flour and stir constantly until a little browned—you may need a little more oil.
3. Add a little stock slowly to loosen and stir the browned flour.   Add the rest of the stock, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, bay leaf, half of the lemon juice, zest, and a little salt.
4. Simmer gently for 15 minutes.  Stir in the spinach, zest and 1/8 cup sherry.
5. Taste for seasoning. Add more lemon juice if necessary.
6. Finish the soup with the sherry (or save the sherry to serve in individual bowls) and parsley. Stir to combine and simmer for a minute or two. If too thick add water.  It should have a somewhat thick consistency.  If too thin, simmer a while until it thickens. Add salt, black pepper and lemon juice to taste. 
7. Serve in bowls garnished with chopped boiled eggs and a few drops of sherry (a little goes a long way), and a sprinkle of parsley.  For extra garnish, place a deviled egg in the center and sliced scallions.

Enjoy!  

*Use veal, beef chuck, or pork cutlets if you can’t find turtle meat.

Mary deSilva is a native of southern Louisiana.  She is also Universal Orlando expert with over 20 books published on Amazon.com.

Buy Me a Coffee!

Follow on Instagram:  @maryfdesilva
Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarydeSilvaAuthor/ 
@marydesilvaauthor
Subscribe: Youtube:  CajunDiyDiva

Artwork: fineartamerica.com/artists/mary+desilva 

and pixels.com/art/mary+desilva

Universal Orlando travel books: Mary's Amazon Orlando Travel Books

Please donate to KellyKickingCancer.org to support Brain Cancer research.