Belizean Seafood Soup

BELIZEAN FISH SERRE

Steps:

• Wash and rinse the snapper.
• Wash, clean and cut vegetables.
• Place bacon into a saucepan over medium heat, pour in coconut milk.
• Add the onion, seasonings, plantain and yucca.
• Bring to a boil until vegetables are tender.
• Dip the fish into the coconut milk to ensure it is coated and place the carrots and fish on top, and simmer until the fish is tender.
• Serve over rice.

SPICY FISH SOUP

Steps:

• Spray a large saucepan with the vegetable cooking spray over medium high heat. Add the onions and saute, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chili powder and saute for 2 more minutes.
• Then add the chicken broth, chile peppers and cumin, stirring well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Next, add the tomatoes, green bell pepper, shrimp and cod. Return to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for another 5 minutes. Gradually stir in the yogurt until heated through.

CARIBBEAN FISH SOUP

Steps:

• Rinse fish with lemon juice; drain.
• Bring water to a boil in a large bowl. Add fish; simmer until soft, about 30 minutes. Strain fish, reserving broth. Let fish cool. Remove bones, trying to keep large pieces of fish intact.
• Bring broth to a boil. Add green bananas, pumpkin, potatoes, corn, carrots, okra, scallions, chile pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme. Bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer until potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in fish. Simmer until flavors combine, about 5 minutes more.
• Remove soup from heat and let stand before serving, about 30 minutes. Discard chile pepper.

BELIZEAN SEAFOOD SOUP

Steps:

• First heat oil in a heavy pot, add flour and stir constantly with a whisk until flour is copper in color.
• Add onions and tomato paste and stir for two to three minutes until onions are a deep golden brown.
• Add coconut milk, fish stock, thyme and garlic. Mix well, bring to a gentle boil, lower heat and let sauce simmer for ten minutes more.
• Add potato, cassava, bell pepper and carrots and boil until vegetables are cooked.
• Add lobster, fish, shrimp and conch and simmer until cooked.
• While soup is boiling mix grated green plantain with coconut oil, salt and pepper. Form into little dumplings the size of a teaspoon.
• Add dumplings along with ripe plantain to the soup and bring to a rapid boil for five minutes or until plantains are cooked.
• Serve hot and enjoy.

HUDUTU

Steps:

• Using a spice grinder, pulverize the oregano, and reserve ½ tablespoon of the powder for the soup. Season the shrimp with ½ teaspoon cumin, 1/3 of the oregano powder, salt to taste and a few pinches of adobo powder, if using. Pound the conch until tender with a mallet or the back of a knife, cut into bite-size pieces and season as you did the shrimp. Pat the snapper dry with paper towels, and season with 1/2 teaspoon cumin, the last third of the oregano powder, salt to taste and a few pinches of adobo powder, if using.
• Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat, until lightly smoking. Carefully place the snapper pieces into the oil, working in batches if necessary. Turn heat up to high, and sear until richly browned, about 3 minutes. Flip and sear the other side, another 3 minutes or so. Remove the fish to a plate.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat in a large pot. Add the minced garlic, chopped peppers and cilantro and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk, 5 cups water, sofrito, the remaining 2 1/2 teaspoons cumin, the reserved 1/2 tablespoon oregano powder and chicken bouillon. Bring this to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to keep the fat from separating. When it comes to a simmer, add the snapper, and turn the heat to high. When the liquid comes to a simmer again, add the shrimp. When it comes to a simmer again, add the conch, if using, and immediately turn off the heat. (The conch will cook quickly in the residual heat of the soup.) Season with salt to taste.
• Divide immediately in shallow bowls to prevent the conch from overcooking, and serve with the machuca, which guests can spoon into their bowls as desired.