Caldo de Mariscos

The broth built from the prawn heads and shells, fried hard and simmered, so it tastes of shellfish before any is served in it.

Fish, Shellfish. Not vegetarian — contains fish, shellfish.

Ingredients

the broth

• 600 g whole raw prawns, heads and shells on
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 400 g tomatoes
• 4 guajillo chillies, soaked and drained
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 litres water
• 2 teaspoons salt

the seafood

• 400 g mussels, scrubbed
• 300 g firm white fish, in large chunks
• 200 g squid rings

to serve

• lime wedges
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• a handful of coriander, chopped
• corn tortillas, as on their own page

Method

1. THE BROTH IS BUILT FROM THE PRAWN HEADS AND SHELLS, FRIED HARD AND SIMMERED, and that is the entire difference between this and every other seafood soup. The prawns are peeled first and the heads and shells go into hot oil on their own and are fried until they turn deep orange and start to smell sweet and toasted -- five or six minutes, pressed down with a spoon to crush the heads, because most of the flavour is in the heads. Then water, and forty minutes at a simmer, and the whole lot is STRAINED OUT and thrown away. What is left is a broth that already tastes of shellfish before a single piece of shellfish is served in it. Made with water or fish stock instead, the soup tastes of whatever is floating in it and no more.
2. THE HEADS ARE CRUSHED AND THEY ARE NOT OPTIONAL. Buying headless prawns halves what this broth can be. Pressed with the back of a spoon in the hot oil they release a deep orange fat that is the colour and most of the savour.
3. THE SHELLS ARE STRAINED OUT AND THE BROTH IS PRESSED THROUGH. Everything solid goes, and the sieve is pressed hard with a ladle to get the last of the liquid out of the shells. Left in, they shed fine fragments that are unpleasant to find and the soup cannot be eaten without picking.
4. THE SEAFOOD GOES IN AT THE VERY END AND OFF A HARD BOIL. Mussels four minutes, fish three, squid ninety seconds, prawns two. Everything in together for ten minutes and the squid is rubber and the fish has disintegrated into the broth. The soup is finished and seasoned first, and then the seafood is cooked in it in the last five minutes.
5. THE SQUID IS THE ONE TO WATCH. It is tender for about ninety seconds and then tough for the next forty minutes before it would begin to soften again. It goes in last and the pan comes off the heat almost immediately.
6. The prawns peeled, the HEADS AND SHELLS KEPT and the bodies put in the fridge.
7. The oil heated in a large pot and the heads and shells fried 5 to 6 MINUTES over a high heat, PRESSED DOWN with a spoon to crush the heads, until deep orange and smelling toasted.
8. The onion, garlic and carrot added and cooked 5 minutes.
9. The tomatoes, soaked guajillos, bay, oregano, the 2 litres of water and the salt added.
10. Simmered 40 MINUTES, uncovered.
11. STRAINED through a sieve into a clean pot, pressed HARD with a ladle, and all the solids DISCARDED.
12. The broth tasted and corrected for salt NOW, while there is nothing delicate in it.
13. Brought back to a gentle simmer. The mussels added and given 4 MINUTES, until they open.
14. The fish chunks added -- 3 MINUTES.
15. The reserved prawns added -- 2 MINUTES.
16. The squid rings added and the pot taken OFF THE HEAT after 90 SECONDS.
17. Ladled into bowls, with lime, onion, coriander and tortillas. Any unopened mussels discarded.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Mexico · All recipes