Turtle Soup with Sherry | Louisiana Kitchen & Culture

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 pounds turtle meat, trimmed of all sinew and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 medium-size onions, chopped finely
• 4 stalks celery, chopped fine
• 2 medium-size green bell peppers, chopped finely
• 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 medium-size Creole tomatoes, seeded and chopped finely
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 quarts beef stock
• 1 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons Crystal brand pepper sauce, or other relatively mild pepper sauce
• 2 tablespoons Italian (flat-leaf) parsley leaves, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
• 5 large eggs, hard-boiled, chopped fine
• 6 ounces fresh spinach, washed, stemmed and leaves slices fine
• zest of 3 lemons, chopped fine
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup good-quality pale sherry