Shrimp Soup — Nayarit Style
My family is from Nayarit, located on the northwest part of Mexico, where people mainly eat seafood. Although Narayit is a very hot region, nobody will refuse a delicious and spicy shrimp soup, with lots of lime juice and Huichol sauce (the traditional hot sauce in the area).
It’s well known that, the hotter the soup, the fresher you’ll feel in the hot weather, maybe that’s why this soup is so popular there. It is served for lunch, dinner and even at fancier events, so don’t hesitate to try it as soon as possible. Enjoy!
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 lb of dried shrimp
- 3 lb plum tomatoes, roasted until dark skin
- 1/2 medium size white onion, chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1/4 medium size white onion (to blend)
- 2 cloves of garlic (to blend)
- 1/2 lb chopped bacon
- 5 sprigs of cilantro
- 4 cubes of shrimp stock (if available, Knorr brand is better) or salt (optional)
- 2 dried chipotle chiles with stem (optional)
- 8 carrots, diced
- 6 medium sized potatoes, without skin and diced
- lime juice to taste
- hot sauce to taste
Directions:
- In a big pot, over medium-high heat, sautee the bacon until it releases the fat. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook until transparent (aprox 2 min.). Add the dried shrimp and sautee for 2 minutes.
- Peel the tomatoes and blend them with the ¼ of the onion and 2 cloves of garlic, until smooth. Pour into the pot and mix well. Cook over low-medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stiring once in a while, until it thickens and the tomatoes change their color (darken).
- Add 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until the shrimp are soft. Taste the stock and if its necessary, add the cubes of shrimp stock. Sometimes the shrimp are very tasty and you will not need to add the shrimp stock cubes, only a little bit of salt.
- Add the diced carrots, and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Then add the diced potatoes, the cilantro sprigs and the chipotle chiles and keep simmering until the potatoes are cooked al dente.
- Before serving, take out the chipotle chiles and the cilantro sprigs. Serve the soup very hot, with lime slices and hot sauce if you like a spicy soup. We would recommend Tabasco, Valentina, Cholula, Huichol sauces.
- The soup is even tastier if you prepare it 2 or 3 days in advance and bring it to a boil before serving. Enjoy!
