Turtle Soup

¼ cup all purpose gluten-free flour

2 tablespoons millet flour

2 tablespoon teff flour

(If you don't have millet flour and/or teff flour, that's ok. Just use all purpose gluten-free flour in its place.

I like millet flour and teff flour for a roux because they brown nicely.)

1 stick butter, divided

1 pound turtle meat, cut into small pieces

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 medium onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1 small red bell pepper, diced

1 small orange bell pepper, diced

1 teaspoon dried marjoram

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 bay leaves

8 cloves garlic, minced

14.5 ounce can of tomatoes, drained and diced

1 quart beef stock

1 lemon

300 mL fino sherry plus more for serving

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon Crystal hot sauce

4 ounces spinach, washed, stemmed, and chopped

3 medium hard boiled eggs, chopped

1 bunch Green onions, sliced thin

Combine the all purpose flour, millet flour, and teff flour. Set aside.

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the turtle meat and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 16 to 18 minutes, until almost all of the water has evaporated.

Add the onions, celery, and bell peppers. Stir to combine. Add the marjoram, thyme, and bay leaves. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes until the vegetables have caramelized.

Add the garlic, stirring constantly until it becomes fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes, bring it up to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes.

While the turtle mixture is simmering, make the roux. In a separate pot, preferably a cast iron pot, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add the flour mixture. Stir constantly for about 10 minutes until the roux is darker than peanut butter. Gradually add about half of the stock. Let it cook until the stock has thickened.

Gently add the roux to the turtle mixture. Add more stock, as needed, to thin out the soup. Realize that turtle soup has a consistency that is more similar to a stew than a soup. Bring the soup up to a boil. Zest the lemon into the soup.

Lower the heat and let the soup simmer until the meat becomes tender. This will probably take two hours or more.

(I promise - it's worth the wait.)

Once the meat is tender, juice the lemon. Add the sherry, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and lemon juice. Bring it back up to a boil and add the spinach. Cook until the spinach has wilted.

To serve, garnish with chopped eggs, green onions, and more sherry.