Ingredients:
Guatemalan tapado soup is a taste of the tropics. It's one of the most popular traditional Guatemalan foods from the country's Caribbean coast. Tapado is one of the culinary traditions of the Garifuna people, a distinct cultural group originally from Africa.
- 1 tablespoon garlic clove
- 1 teaspoon jalapeño
- Small handful cilantro
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and peeled
- 1/2 onion
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 cups water, vegetable or seafood stock
- 1 cup yuca, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 plantains, sliced on diagonal
- 1/2 can Grace Foods coconut milk
- 20 raw shrimp, peeled and deveined but tails on
- 2 Caribbean lobster tails if available or mixed seafood of your choice
- 4 fillets white fish or you can fry a whole fish
- 1/4 teaspoon achiote
- Grace Foods hot pepper sauce
- White rice
- Tortillas
Preparation:
Chop the first six ingredients in a food processor. Place the vegetable oil in the bottom of a large soup pot. Sauté the chopped vegetables in oil until soft and saucy but not browned. Dissolve the achiote in warm water or seafood stock. Add water and achiote to sautéed vegetables. Pour the coconut milk into the broth and vegetables. Heat until simmering and add the sliced plantain, green banana and yuca. Cook for around 10 minutes. Add seafood and simmer for another 5 or 10 minutes until vegetables and seafood are tender but not mushy. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. If you want to prepare it the traditional way, you can deep fry a whole fish and lay it on top of the soup. Serve with white rice, tortillas and hot pepper sauce. Serves 2.
