Ecuadorian Fish Soup
Sopa de pescado
As Marco Caceres, from Cuenca, Ecuador, taught Lindsay Sterling in Freeport, Maine, November 2015
Serves: 6
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
1 1/2 cups white rice
3 cups water
1 tsp + 2 Tbsp oil
2 lb. haddock or other white fish
2 tomatoes, quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red onion, sliced into 2 inch segments
1-2 bunches cilantro (about 2 cups roughly chopped)
2 lemons
salt and pepper to taste
Bring rice to a boil in a small pot with 2 1/2 cups water, and a tsp of oil. When rice boils, cover and let simmer for twenty minutes.
Put fish in a bowl, squeeze lemon juice into it, and mix gently so all the fish can get the lemon flavor. In a large, deep saute pan or soup pot on medium-high, saute 2 cloves garlic in oil with a small handful of the red onion slices. Add another small handful of the red onion to the blender, along with the tomatoes and a cup of water. Blend until smooth and tomato flecks disappear.
Add the tomato puree to the pan with the onions and garlic, along with the fish. Layer onions and cilantro over fish. Cover pot, and turn heat to medium. When fish is cooked (opaque throughout) and onions are soft, serve soup with small bowls of rice on the side. Garnish with fresh cilantro if you want a fresh pop of color.
Copyright Lindsay Sterling 2015
