Author Notes
The best thing I ate this year certainly was not prepared by me. And while I had a most memorable lunch The Modern, the stand out dish was a fish soup in Nicaragua. That's all it was called - Sopa de Pescado, no other clues. I cannot speak to the authenticity. I ate it numerous times with the hope of recreating it back home. The original came with a lobster tail in it. That's a little pricey here and seems a touch over the top, so I have left it as optional. The whole fish I was served varied as to what was available. —Summer of Eggplant
Ingredients
- Fish Stock
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3 quarts
water
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1.75 pounds
Fish trimmings and/or heads (I used Grouper trimmings)
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1
Onion, quartered
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2
carrots, roughly chopped
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3
celery stalks, roughly chopped
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2 tablespoons
sea or kosher salt
- Fish soup
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2
3/4 lb. mild fish, cleaned with head and tail on, I used yellow tailed snapper, but a small grouper or mullet would also work fine
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8
medium shrimp
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1
lobster tail - steamed (optional)
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2
medium tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
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1
small Anaheim pepper, chopped
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1
small onion, chopped
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4 tablespoons
unsalted butter
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6 cups
fish stock (above or store bought)
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1 teaspoon
red pepper flakes
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2 tablespoons
cilantro or parsley, chopped
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salt, to taste
Directions
- Fish Stock
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Place all the items in a large pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Use at once or cool down and store in refrigerator or freezer for another use.
- Fish soup
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Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the butter, when melted add in the onions and red pepper and saute for 4-5 minutes until they just start to become translucent. They do not want to take on color.
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Add fish stock and bring to a simmer, adjust seasoning if needed. Steam the lobster tail separately, if using. Remove from shell and divide in to two.
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Score the fish with a knife two times on each side. Add the fish to simmering stock. The fish takes roughly 5 minutes to cook in broth, add shrimp in 2 minutes later (3 minutes to cook +/-) and the peppers 1 minute after (2 minutes to soften). Just prior to serving add the tomatoes in to the broth.
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In Nicaragua this dish was served with a side of plantains, but bread or rice would be good too.
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