Venetian Crab Soup

Directions

Heat oil in a wide 6-quart heavy pot over medium heat until it shimmers.

Cook onion, celery, and fennel, stirring occasionally, until golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add shrimp shells and cook, stirring occasionally, until shells turn pink.

Stir in tomatoes with their juice.

Simmer, breaking up tomatoes slightly with a wooden spoon, 3 minutes, then add ginger, saffron, curry powder, and bay leaf and simmer 5 minutes.

Add chicken stock and boil uncovered 5 minutes.

Reduce heat and simmer uncovered 45 minutes.

Discard bay leaf, then purée soup (including shrimp shells) in batches in a blender until finely ground, about 2 minutes per batch (use caution when blending hot liquids).

Strain soup through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot, discarding solids.

Peel and dice potato.

Peel and dice enough celery root to measure ½ cup.

Add potato and celery root to soup and gently simmer uncovered until tender, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in butter and crabmeat.

Season with salt and pepper.