Crayfish soup after the crayfish party

If you want to enjoy a proper crayfish soup the day after, save all the shells of the crayfish, but without the intestents inside the head. This makes a delicious base for a perfect soup. 

A lot of people in Finland do the crayfish catching themselves. It is, however, perfect to do the dish with the crayfish you can buy in the supermarkets. I usually drain the small bastards and cook an own liquid with a lot more salt and dill. I normally add some 3 tablespoons of coarse sea salt per 1 liter water.  A good 24 hours in the fridge gives a perfect result. Once you add a good amount of dill, of course. 

This time the soup was made of:

The best shells of 2 kg frozen crayfish
1/2 tube tomato paste
1/2 bottle of dry white wine (maybe a bit more). Save some for the chef!
1,5 litres of boiling water
1 big onion
dill
2 dl creme fraiche
3 dl whipping cream
1/2 dl rapeseed oil
salt and pepper 
a few drops of Tabasco
wheat flour 

When you wake up after a good Nordic crayfish party, you might find yourself in need of some liquid for the thirst, but still for something salty as well. This is the thing.

Rinse the shells and drain well. Put the whole bunch in an oven pan and roast in 250 centigrade until crisp but not burned. Take a big kettle, pour in a good amount of rapeseed oil and put in the crisp shells. Put the full heat on and add a chopped onion, the tomato paste, some wheat flour. Mix a little while and enjoy of the great relief as you pour over the wine. Mix again and add the water. Let the whole thing cook for at least two hours. If you loose too much liquid, add some water. 

Using a colander, pour the soup base into another kettle and finish the soup by reducing it still as you please. If the soup is too this after checking the taste, make a beurre mainie to fix it.

If you have some leftover crayfish tails, make a pile of them on each plate. Pour over the soup and enjoy with a good bread and cheese and, naturally some white wine. Finish with some dill.  You might enjoy a finish with some drops of lemon juice as it can lift it all up to a higher level.