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Sopa de caracol
Sopa de caracol: conch soup with coconut milk from Honduras's north coast
Along the north coast of Honduras, in Tela, La Ceiba and the Garifuna villages between them, sopa de caracol arrives in deep bowls on lazy weekend afternoons by the sea: tender conch in a creamy coconut broth with green banana, cassava and a fistful of culantro. The broth is rich but not heavy, with a little heat if you drop in a whole hot pepper. Buy cleaned, frozen conch meat from a legal and sustainable source, as queen conch is protected in many places; large clams or whelks can stand in. A common mistake is boiling the soup hard once the coconut milk is in, which splits it into a grainy, oily broth. Chef's tip: pound the conch flat with a meat mallet and simmer it on its own first, until a knife slides in easily, before anything else goes in.
- Total time
- 105 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb cleaned conch meatthawed in the fridge if frozen
- 2 limesjuiced
- 4 ¼ cups water
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onionchopped
- 1 green pepperchopped
- 3 cloves garliccrushed
- 10 ½ oz cassava (yuca)sweet cassava, peeled, woody core removed, cut into chunks
- 2 green bananaspeeled and cut into 3 cm pieces
- 3 ¼ cups coconut milkfull-fat
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ⅔ oz culantro or fresh corianderchopped
- 1 scotch bonnet pepper (optional)left whole
- 1 tsp saltto taste
- ½ tsp black pepper
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Rinse 1 ⅛ lb cleaned conch meat, rub it with half of 1 limes and leave for 10 minutes. Pound each piece with a meat mallet until about 1 cm thick, then cut into bite-sized pieces.
10 minStep 2: Put the conch in a pan with 4 ¼ cups water, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer gently for about 45 minutes, until a knife slides in with little resistance. Skim off any grey foam.
45 minStep 3: Meanwhile, warm 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large pot over a medium heat and soften 1 onion, 1 green pepper and 3 cloves garlic for 6 minutes until soft and fragrant.
6 minStep 4: Add the conch with its cooking liquid, 10 ½ oz cassava (yuca) and 2 green bananas. Simmer for 15 minutes until the cassava is just tender at the edges.
15 minStep 5: Stir in 3 ¼ cups coconut milk, ½ tsp ground cumin, 1 scotch bonnet pepper, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper. Keep the soup at a gentle simmer, never a rolling boil, for 10 minutes, until the cassava and banana are soft right through and the conch is opaque and tender.
10 minStep 6: Lift out the whole pepper (don't let it burst), stir in ⅔ oz culantro or fresh coriander and the rest of 1 limes, and taste for salt. Serve with white rice or warm tortillas.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 33 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sopa de caracol take?
- About 105 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 80 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of limes?
- Lemon, same amount.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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