Puerto Rican Asopao #soupswappers

Puerto Rican Asopao....What is asopao?  An asopao is a Puerto Rican rice soup.  It is one of those dishes that can be a soup, a gumbo, or a stew.  Rice is the one consistent ingredient.  The protein will vary from chef to chef....for today's soup, stew, gumbo...probably more like a stew or gumbo as this dish wasn't very soupy, the protein is seafood:  shrimp and rockfish.

The soup starts with a sofrito which is a Caribbean sauce made of tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic and herbs.  It was a lovely base for this soup!

Today I was challenged to prepare a soup that would Say Goodbye to Winter.  One that would soothe my soul and chase away the winter blues...for me, that is soup with some type of seafood.  I always associate seafood with spring, summer or fall...but, never winter.  It is usually a dish on the lighter side and as it warms up, I have to say goodbye to all of the wonderful comfort foods I have been enjoying!  This soup has a hint of spring featuring shrimp and rockfish.

Say Goodbye to Winter is hosted by Sally at Bewitching Kitchen  Thank you for making me think of spring!  It was a delicious bowl of soup!

The Saturday Soup Swappers is a group of bloggers brought together by Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm. The group gets together on the third Saturday of the month to share soups or stews based on a theme selected by one of the members. If you are interested in joining in on the fun, follow the link above for more information. All are welcome!




Puerto Rican Asopao
adapted from Coastal Living Magazine

Yields:  4 servings

Sofrito
1 red pepper, chunked
1 small tomato, quartered
1/2 onion, rough chop
1 jalapeno chile, stem, seeds removed
5 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Asopao
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp smoked paprika (The amount may be adjusted up or down based on preference.)
1 cup Sofrito
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cups uncooked long-grain rice
1 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt, divided
6 cups water
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 bay leaf
2 pounds firm white fish fillets, cut into 1-in. cubes (snapper, rockfish, etc.)
1 pound raw large shrimp, peeled, deveined
2 tomatoes diced (about 2 cups)

Garnish
1/2 white onion, small chop
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 lemons or limes cut into wedges
2 jalapeno chiles, thinly sliced

Prepare the sofrito.
In a blender process all of the sofrito ingredients until finely chopped and incorporated.  (Process just enough so that there are no large chunks in the mixture.)

Prepare the asopao.
Heat oil in a large heavy stockpot over medium high heat.  Add the paprika and cook until fragrant.  Add the sofrito and the tomato paste.  Cook, stirring often until the mixture is fragrant and slightly reduced, about 5-6 minutes.  Add the rice and cook 1-2 minutes, stirring, until slightly toasted.  Add 1 Tablespoon salt.  Add the water, vinegar and bay leaf then bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and cover.  Cook until the rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, prepare the seafood.  Season the fish with the remaining 1/2 Tablespoon of salt.  Uncover the stockpot, nestle the fish, shrimp and tomatoes in the rice.  Cover and cook until the rice and fish are fully cooked, about another 15 minutes.  Remove the soup from the heat and allow to stand for five minutes.  

Garnish the soup with any or all of the toppings.

PRINTABLE RECIPE



We both enjoyed this soup, stew, gumbo....on that day the sun was shining...the trees were blooming and the citrus is offering tiny little buds to make us smile!  Thank you, Sally!

InLinkz Code:

Comments

  1. Looks like a dish I would really enjoy

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have never heard of this dish but I can't wait to try it. It looks so scrumptious!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amazing, I had never heard of this recipe, and wonder how they pronounce it, because in Portuguese we would definitely use a nasal tone on the "ao" - but I am not sure they have that in Spanish... interesting. Will have to find that out

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kathy, I'd love to have a big bowl of this soup...but I can't handle bell peppers and I'm assuming that the red pepper is one. Maybe I could substitute... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

    ReplyDelete
  5. This sounds delicious and perfect for the theme. I can't wait to try it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I know I would love this. Thank you for sharing!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. A bowl of soup that would definitely fill my belly! Looks amazing! Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck - Colleen

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've not had this soup before but it certainly does sound great.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts