She-Crab Soup

No disk is more profoundly lowcountry. Many versions thicken the soup with flour, but this old version is based on its Scottish antecedent, partan bree, and is thickened with rice. If you can’t get fresh crabs, make a rich shellfish stock with shrimp and lobster shells (you can freeze them until you have enough), then add fresh crabmeat and roe (see Sources) as you send the soup bowls to the table.

Don’t worry if your crabs don’t yield a full po