COPPERSopa de caracol recipe
A Garifuna coast soup where pounded conch simmers with cassava and green plantain in coconut milk scented with culantro de pata.
Ingredients
- 500 g conch meat
- 800 ml coconut milk
- 600 g cassava
- 2 green plantains
- 1000 ml fish stock
- 1 onion
- 3 clove garlic
- 1 green bell pepper
- 1 bunch culantro
- 1 lime
How to make Sopa de caracol
- Pound 500 g of cleaned conch with a mallet until the flesh slackens, then cut it into bite pieces. Without this step it stays rubbery.
- Peel 600 g of cassava and 2 green plantains and cut both into thick chunks.
- Sweat 1 chopped onion, 1 diced green bell pepper and 3 crushed garlic cloves in a little oil for 5 minutes.
- Pour in 1000 ml of coconut milk and 1 litre of fish stock and bring to a bare simmer. Do not boil hard or the coconut milk splits.
- Add the cassava and green plantain and simmer 20 minutes until a knife goes through the cassava.
- Add the conch and a small bunch of chopped culantro and simmer 20 to 25 minutes more, until the conch is tender.
- Season with salt, finish with the juice of 1 lime off the heat.
- Serve very hot in deep bowls, with white rice and fried ripe plantain on the side.
What is Sopa de caracol?
Sopa de caracol is a traditional dish from Honduras, simmered in one pot, and takes about 1 hour and 5 minutes from start to finish. It is built around fish stock, coconut milk and cassava. The recipe below uses 10 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Sopa de caracol take?
At 65 minutes it is quicker than 73% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. Copper's atlas has 2 dishes built on fish stock. The method runs to 8 steps, the longest being 25 minutes.
Any tips for making Sopa de caracol?
Pound the conch with a mallet until the flesh slackens, or it stays rubbery, and keep the coconut milk at a bare simmer so it does not split.
How Sopa de caracol compares
Fish stock appears in no other dish in the atlas.
Copper documents Honduras alongside 197 other countries. Every recipe is free to read, with the full ingredient list and every step.