Shrimp Soup Recipes
 

When you also consider the heart healthy benefits of the Omega-3 fatty acids contained in seafood ... these soups are just what the doctor ordered!

There are many different types of seafood and shrimp soups, each with their own spices, stock, and preparation methods:

• Gumbo
• Chowder
• Bisque
• Sopa (Mexican soup)
• Chupe (Peruvian soup)

The best thing about these soups is that you can substitute other types of seafood - crayfish instead of shrimp, for example.

Shrimp Soup Recipes  

Sopa de Camarones (Shrimp Soup)

 Ingredients

1 lb medium shrimp

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 Bay leaf

2 whole cloves

6 new potatoes, halved

4 cups milk

2 ears sweet corn, cut into 6 slices

2 egg yolks

 Directions

Shell the shrimp and set aside. Heat 1 Tbsp of butter in a frying pan and sauté the shrimp shells for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a saucepan, add 2 cups water and boil until reduced by half.

Strain stock and discard shells.  Heat remaining 2 Tbsp butter in large pan and saute onion and garlic until tender. Add tomatoes, bay leaf, cloves and stock. Cover and cook 15 minutes.  Strain.

Add potatoes. Cover and simmer 15 minutes, until potatoes are almost done. Add milk, shrimp, and corn and cook, covered for 5 minutes.  Beat egg yolks lightly. Beat 3-4 Tbsp of hot soup into the yolks, then stir the egg mixture into the soup over low heat until it thickens slightly.

Sopa de Camarones con Chile Pasilla

(Shrimp Soup With Pasilla Chiles)

Fried pasilla chile strips add an alluring crunch and intense caramelized flavor.

 Ingredients

5 pasilla chiles, seeded, de-veined, halved
4 Tbsp olive oil
6-1/2 cups water
5 medium tomatillos, husked
1 clove garlic

1/2 small white onion, chopped
1 lb uncooked medium shrimp, peeled, shells reserved
1 corn tortilla
10 epazote leaves
 8 lime wedges

 Directions

Cut 4 chile halves into fine strips. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in small skillet over high heat. Add chile strips and fry until crisp, about 10 seconds. Drain; reserve for garnish.

Toast remaining chile halves in medium skillet over medium-high heat 1 minute. Transfer to bowl of cold water; soak 30 minutes. Drain; rinse with cold water.

Bring 1-1/2 cups water to boil in small saucepan. Add tomatillos and boil until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain.

Puree tomatillos, soaked chiles, and garlic in blender. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add chile puree and stir over medium heat until puree thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.

Bring 5 cups water to boil in large pot. Add shrimp shells and boil 10 minutes. Strain shrimp broth into chile puree. Toast tortilla directly atop burner until crisp and blackened in spots, about 4 minutes.

Add tortilla to chile puree, then epazote leaves. Simmer over medium heat until tortilla is soft, about 15 minutes. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to saucepan; season with salt.

Bring to boil. Add shrimp and simmer until just cooked through, about 3 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls; garnish with fried chile strips and serve with lime wedges.

Chupe de Camarones
( Peruvian Shrimp Soup)

Serve with Red Pepper Sauce

Serves 12

Ingredients

2-1/2 kg (5 lb 8 oz) large shrimp

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 large onions, chopped

5 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

2 Tbsp ketchup

6 Tbsp ají panca / sundried red aji (chili) paste

1 kg (2.2 lb) fava beans

1 kg (2.2 lb) peas

14 small potatoes (yellow flesh if available)

3 ears of corn, cut in 2-inch slices

1-1/2 cups rice

1 cup evaporated milk

3/4 cup (200 g) fresh feta cheese, diced

12 eggs

2 tsp crushed garlic

1/2 tsp cumin

1 Tbsp oregano

   salt, to taste

   pepper, to taste

Directions

Peel and de-vein shrimp. Reserve corals, skins and heads. Separate 12 whole shrimp for decoration.

Pour 26 cups of water with salt in a large pan and bring to a boil. Add heads and skins from shrimps and cook covered, at medium heat, for 45 minutes. Cool. Blend or process and strain. Save the stock.

Sauté onion, tomato, and garlic in a large pan. Add ketchup, red pepper paste, salt, pepper, cumin and the shrimp corals. Cook, stirring frequently, for approximately 10 minutes.

Add stock from shrimps and boil for 15 minutes. Set aside.

In a medium-size pan, cook peeled potatoes with salt in a double boiler or in a small amount of water.

45 minutes before serving, add rice, fava beans, peas, and corn to boiling stock.

Pour 2 cups of soup into a medium-size skillet and simmer. Poach eggs in the soup. Several eggs can be cooked at the same time, depending on the size of the skillet. Set aside.

Add shrimp tails, whole shrimps, milk and oregano, when rice and all ingredients are cooked. Wait until shrimps turn pink to serve immediately.

To serve: place cheese and potato in an individual soup bowl. Pour soup and place poached egg and a whole shrimp on top.

Serve with Red Pepper Sauce in a sauceboat.

Salsa de Rocoto (Red Pepper Sauce)

Ingredients

4 rocoto or other hot red peppers of choice

1/2 cup oil

1 medium size onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup (100 g) fresh farmers cheese (ricotta or feta)

     salt, to taste

Directions

Cut rocotos in halves. Seed and devein. Using gloves, wash rocotos by rubbing one against the other. Soak in water for 8 hours, changing water every hour.

Place in pan and boil 3 times changing water each time. Blend or process peppers with oil, onion, cheese and salt.

Peruvian Chupe de Camarones
(Peruvian Shrimp Soup)

Serve with Empanaditas de Quesco

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic

3 Tbsp canned tomato sauce

6 C boiling water

1/2 cup green peas

1/2 cup corn kernels

5 potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dried ground chli peppers

1/4 tsp marjoram

1/4 lb cream cheese

2 cups milk

24 shrimp, shelled and cleaned

  4 eggs

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a deep saucepan and add the onions and  garlic; sauté until brown.  Remove the garlic cloves.  Add the tomato sauce, water, peas, corn, potatoes, salt, chili peppers and marjoram.

Cook for 20 minutes.  Mash the cream cheese to a smooth consistency and add to the soup.  Add the shrimp and cook for 10 min.

Beat the eggs in a bowl.  Gradually add 2 cups of the hot soup to the eggs - be careful not to curdle by stirring constantly.  Turn the eggs into the soup continuing to stir constantly.

Do not allow soup to  boil.

Serve hot and with Empanaditas de Quesco

Empanaditas de Quesco

Ingredients

1 cup sifted flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 Tbsp butter

2 egg yolks, beaten

2 Tbsp water

4 Tbsp cottage cheese

4 Tbsp cream cheese

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1 egg white

   Oil for deep frying

 Directions

Sift together flour and baking powder, cut in the butter with a pastry blender.  Add the egg yolks and water and toss to coat the mixture to make a soft dough. 

Combine the cottage and cream cheeses, salt and chili powder, mixing until smooth.  Beat the egg white until stiff and fold into the cheese mixture.

Roll the dough out as thinly as possible.  Cut into rounds with cookie cutter or edge of glass.  Place a teaspoon of the cheese mixture on each round and fold over the dough sealing the edges.  Press the edges with tines of a fork.

Heat oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and fry each empanadita until browned; drain on paper towels.