Oyster Soup Recipe - The Washington Post
This recipe makes a pot of soup big enough to feed a crowd. In her cookbook, “Mosquito Supper Club,” Melissa M. Martin, the owner of the New Orleans restaurant of the same name, describes the soup as one handed down from her grandmother, Velma Marie. “My grandmother’s oyster soup tastes of salt pork and briny oysters, of sweet tomatoes and alliums. It resembles a tomato-forward bouillabaisse and smells like the oyster beds of Louisiana. The salt pork comes from our Acadian salt-curing roots; it mellows the acidity of the tomatoes and mingles perfectly with the salt from the sea.”
Leftover soup can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
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Ingredients
measuring cupServings: 10-12
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 8 ounces store-bought salt pork, diced
- 4 pounds large yellow onions (about 7), finely diced
- 4 large ripe tomatoes (2 pounds total), cored
- 1 cup (4 3/4 ounces, about 3 heads) finely chopped garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, plus more as needed
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more as needed
- 12 1/2 cups oyster liquor (see NOTE), fish stock or chicken stock
- 2 pints shucked salty oysters, drained and oyster liquor reserved (see above)
- Kosher salt, as needed
- 8 ounces small or medium pasta shells, cooked according to the package instructions
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
- 1/4 cup finely diced scallions, for garnish
Directions
Step 1
Warm a large heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat for 2 minutes, then add the oil and heat for 30 seconds. Add the salt pork and cook, turning as needed to brown on all sides, about 12 minutes total.
Step 2
Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 30 minutes.
Step 3
Add the tomatoes, garlic, black pepper and cayenne and stir well. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and let everything smother together, stirring every 15 minutes, until the tomatoes are completely broken down and fall apart easily when you press on them with a spoon, about 45 minutes. (The timing may be a little shorter or longer depending on the size of your tomatoes.)
Step 4
Add the oyster liquor and raise the heat to medium. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes, letting all the flavors marry; the soup will be salty from the oyster water and salt pork and sweet from the tomatoes and onions.
Step 5
Just before serving, add the oysters to the soup and raise the heat to medium. Bring the soup to a brisk simmer and cook for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat. Taste the soup, adding salt or more cayenne as needed.
Step 6
Add the cooked pasta shells and stir to combine. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the parsley and green onions.
Step 7
NOTE: Martin offers this tip for finding oyster liquor (also known as oyster water): Ask an oyster supplier, seafood market or an oyster bar if they will save some oyster liquor for you. If not, here's a tip from her oyster purveyor: Take 6 shucked oysters and blend them with 1 quart of water, adding 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, then strain the liquid and use it in place of the oyster liquor. Taste your oyster liquor: If it’s not salty, add 1 teaspoon of salt, or more as needed, to bring the brininess up. Use immediately.
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Nutritional Facts
Per serving (based on 12)
Calories
336
Fat
20 g
Saturated Fat
7 g
Carbohydrates
24 g
Sodium
721 mg
Cholesterol
49 mg
Protein
15 g
Fiber
2 g
Sugar
4 g
This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s advice.
Adapted from “Mosquito Supper Club” by Melissa Martin (Artisan Books, 2020).
Tested by Ann Maloney.
Published December 16, 2020
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