Cuban Corner Coconut Chile Fish Soup

About This Recipe

Coconut shows up far more in Cuba's eastern Oriente region - especially around Baracoa - than in Havana cooking, where Afro-Caribbean and Taino influences favor coconut milk in seafood pots. This soup takes that thread and builds a light, warmly spiced broth around white fish, using a classic sofrito base of onion, garlic and green pepper simmered into coconut milk with a whisper of chile heat. The technique that matters here is keeping the fish gentle: it goes in only at the very end and poaches in the hot broth for a few minutes rather than boiling, so it stays tender and doesn't break apart. The coconut milk is simmered first on its own so it has time to meld with the aromatics before the delicate protein arrives. This is a home-style Baracoa-inspired pot, not a fine-dining bisque - rustic, a little sweet from the coconut, a little sharp from lime, and meant to be eaten with white rice or Cuban bread to soak up the broth.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1.5 lbfirm white fish fillets(such as snapper or tilapia, cut into chunks)
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 1onion(diced)
• 1green bell pepper(diced)
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 1tomato(diced)
• 1fresh chile(such as aji or jalapeno, thinly sliced)
• 2 cans (13.5 oz)coconut milk
• 1.5 cupsfish or vegetable stock
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1lime(juiced)
• 1 tspfine sea salt
• 0.33 cupcilantro(chopped)

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the sofrito

   Heat olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Cook onion and green pepper 6-7 minutes until soft.

2. 2

   Add aromatics

   Stir in garlic, chile and cumin; cook 1 minute until fragrant, then add the tomato and cook 3 minutes until it breaks down.

3. 3

   Simmer the broth

   Pour in coconut milk and stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered 12-15 minutes so the flavors meld and the broth thickens slightly.

   Keep it at a bare simmer - a hard boil can cause coconut milk to separate and turn grainy.

4. 4

   Poach the fish

   Season fish lightly with salt, slide into the broth and poach 5-6 minutes until just opaque and flaking.

5. 5

   Finish

   Remove from heat, stir in lime juice and taste for salt. Finish with chopped cilantro before serving.

Variations

• •

  Add peeled shrimp in the last 3 minutes for a mixed seafood version.

• •

  Stir in a handful of chopped malanga or yuca earlier in the simmer for a heartier, starchier pot.

• •

  Swap the chile for a pinch of dried aji amarillo powder if fresh chiles aren't available.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 2 days in an airtight container; the fish will continue to firm up, so reheat gently over low heat rather than microwaving on high.

Frequently Asked Questions