Tortoise 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.
The turtle’s meat is quite tough, so it must be processed for a long time. However, it is not necessary to go anywhere to try tortoise soup (see photo in the article). It is possible to cook it yourself if you find all the necessary ingredients. Given the many gourmet grocery stores that have appeared recently, this should not be difficult.
Tortoise soup: recipe
You will need the following ingredients:
- 750 grams of fresh turtle meat (thawed);
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil;
- 1-1 / 2 tablespoons Creole seasonings for seafood;
- 1-1 / 2 tablespoons Creole seasonings for meat;
- 1 cup onion, chopped finely;
- 1 cup green pepper, chopped finely;
- 1/2 cup celery, chopped finely;
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic;
- 1/2 tablespoon chopped dried thyme;
- 2 leaves of laurel ;
- 8 cups unsalted beef or veal broth;
- 3/4 cup parsi tomato;
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil;
- 1/2 cup flour;
- 1 cup dry sherry;
- 2 tablespoons of hot pepper sauce (chili or the like);
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce;
- juice of one lemon;
- 150 grams of fresh spinach without stalks, finely chopped;
- 2 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped;
- dry sherry for garnish (optional).
How to cook this dish
Heat 2 tablespoons of table oil in a large saucepan over low heat. Fry the tortoise meat with meat and seafood seasonings for about 20 minutes. Put bell peppers, onions, celery and garlic, stirring constantly. Then add thyme and bay leaf, reduce heat and fry (often stirring) for another 20-25 minutes, or until the ingredients are soft.
Add the broth and tomato paste, bring the tortoise soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook on low heat for half an hour, periodically removing with a spoon any fat that will rise to the surface.
Soup dressing
Continuing to follow the instructions on how to make tortoise soup, you must refill. Heat 1/2 cup butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add flour gradually, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Be careful not to burn the mixture. After the flour is evenly mixed, cook the dressing for about 3 minutes, until it starts to smell like nuts and becomes a mixture of wet sand.
Use a whisk to vigorously mix the dressing with the soup, try to completely prevent the formation of lumps. Cook the tortoise soup in a small flame for about 25 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent the ingredients from sticking to the bottom.
Add sherry and bring to a boil. Pour in pepper sauce and Worcestershire, reduce heat and heat the soup for another 30 minutes or until the starchy taste disappears. In doing so, you must continue to remove the grease or foam that will form on the surface.
Add lemon juice, bring to a boil again and continue cooking longer for 15 to 20 minutes. Then put the spinach and chopped egg. Adjust the amount of seasoning and salt to your liking. Remove bay leaf before pouring cooked tortoise soup into bowls or plates. The recipe for many restaurants involves the addition of one or two teaspoons of sherry to each plate, for a more expressive taste.
As you can see, this dish requires a long cooking time. However, the results are justified. In addition, there is another well-known option for how to cook tortoise soup.
Ingredients for the second version
- 150 grams of butter;
- 1.2 kg of tortoise meat, cut into small pieces;
- freshly ground salt and pepper;
- 2 medium sized onions, sliced in medium slices;
- 6 stalks of celery, chopped;
- 30 cloves of chopped garlic;
- 3 bell peppers, chopped;
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme;
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano, ground;
- 4 bay leaves;
- 2 liters of veal broth;
- 1 cup flour;
- 750 ml of dry sherry;
- 1 tablespoon of Tabasco sauce ;
- a quarter cup of Worcestershire sauce;
- 2 large lemons, juicy;
- 3 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes;
- 350 grams of freshly chopped spinach;
- 6 hard-boiled eggs, cut into large pieces.
Cooking process
In a large soup pan at high temperature, melt 50 grams of butter. Add turtle meat and sauté until brown, season with pepper and salt as you like. Stew for about 18-20 minutes, then put onion, garlic, celery and pepper to the meat and mix everything thoroughly. Add thyme, oregano, bay leaf and fry for about 22 minutes. Pour the broth, bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes, removing fat from the surface.
Cook the dressing of flour 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, with careful movements, gradually pour the dressing into the tortoise soup, stirring it constantly. After all the ingredients are mixed well, cook the dish over low heat for about 25 minutes. Stir the soup constantly to prevent burning, slowly pour in the sherry, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces. Continue to cook over low heat, removing the foam on top, gradually add lemon juice and tomatoes, then make the fire on the stove strong.
Bring the dish to a boil, then put spinach and eggs in it. Boil for a few more minutes, then adjust the amount of spices to your liking.
Useful Tips
Both of the above recipes for tortoise soup include caramelization of vegetables and meat. This means that all the ingredients in the cooking process will get a rich dark color. No need to fear this, it should be so.
Worcestershire sauce can be prepared at home on its own: it consists of vinegar, soy sauce, onions, garlic and spices. Tabasco sauce can be replaced with chili sauce. If you want to use Tabasco Habanero sauce, it will need less. its pungency is much stronger.
What else to keep in mind
Speaking about how to cook tortoise 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 specified in the recipes. Otherwise, you can get solid and not very tasty meat in the soup.
Tortoise soup (recipe with photo 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.