Sopa de Caracol
Honduras' Garifuna coastal soup: conch and yuca slow-cooked in coconut milk with green plantain, sweet pepper and cilantro. Rich, sweet and marine.
Overview
Conch is tenderised by pounding (or by long cooking, whichever is at hand), then briefly simmered. Aromatics (onion, garlic, sweet pepper, achiote or paprika) fry in butter; coconut milk, water, yuca (cassava) and green plantain go in; the conch returns at the end so it stays tender. Cilantro, lime, salt.
Ingredients
- 500 g conch meat (tenderised by pounding to 5 mm; or use 500 g raw shrimp / 500 g firm white fish if conch is unavailable)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion (large, chopped)
- 1 green bell pepper (chopped)
- 1 red bell pepper (chopped)
- 4 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 1 teaspoon ground annatto (achiote)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 (400 ml) tin coconut milk
- 500 ml water (or fish stock)
- 1 green (large, unripe) plantain (peeled, sliced 1 cm thick)
- 400 g yuca (peeled, cut into 3 cm chunks)
- 2 carrots (medium, sliced 1 cm thick)
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
- 1 lime (juice)
- 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro (chopped)
Method
Stage 1 - Tenderise the conch
- If your conch isn't pre-tenderised: place between sheets of cling film and pound with a meat mallet to 5 mm thick. Slice into bite-sized strips.
Stage 2 - Build the base
- Melt the butter in a wide heavy pot over medium heat.
- Soften the onion and peppers 8 minutes until soft and gold.
- Add garlic, achiote (or paprika) and oregano; cook 1 minute.
Stage 3 - Coconut and vegetables
- Pour in the coconut milk and water (or stock); bring to a simmer.
- Add the yuca and carrot; cover; simmer 20 minutes until just tender.
- Add the green plantain; simmer a further 10 minutes.
Stage 4 - Conch
- Add the conch strips; simmer just 3-5 minutes - it cooks through fast and overcooks to rubber.
- (If using shrimp: simmer 3 minutes. If using fish: 4-5 minutes.)
- Stir in lime juice; season with salt and pepper.
- Scatter cilantro.
Stage 5 - Serve
- Ladle into wide deep bowls. Eat with a wedge of corn tortilla and an extra lime wedge.
Notes
- Conch availability: Fresh conch is hard to find outside the Caribbean. Frozen conch is sold in some Caribbean and Asian food stores. Substitutes that keep the spirit of the dish: large shrimp, lobster or firm white fish.
- Cook the conch briefly: Whether fresh or tenderised, conch turns from tender to rubbery in seconds. Add at the very end.
- Achiote (annatto): Gives the soup its golden-red colour and a slightly earthy note. Paprika is a fine substitute; smoked paprika adds depth.
Storage
- Refrigerate 2 days. Reheat gently - boiling rubberises the conch.
- Don't freeze - the coconut milk splits and the yuca turns grainy.
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