Sopa de Caracol
A coconut-milk conch soup rooted in Garifuna cuisine — the Afro-Indigenous people of West African, Carib, and Arawak descent who settled Central America's Caribbean coast after being exiled from St. Vincent in 1797 — strongly identified with Honduras today even though its heritage is shared across the wider Garifuna coastal region. Its Honduran fame owes a lot to 'Sopa de Caracol' by the band Banda Blanca, a 1991 punta hit that topped the Billboard Latin charts and carried both the song and the dish internationally. Conch (caracol) is genuinely hard to source outside the region — scallops or a firm whitefish plus a few drops of fish sauce make a realistic, honestly-labeled substitute.
⚠ Contains: Shellfish. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 500g conch meat, cleaned and tenderized (or scallops or firm whitefish as a substitute)
- 400ml coconut milk
- 1 yuca, peeled and cubed
- 1 green plantain, sliced
- 1 carrot, sliced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 1 habanero or other hot pepper
- 1 tbsp achiote paste
- Culantro (or cilantro), chopped
- Lime, salt
Steps
- Sauté the onion, garlic, bell pepper, and achiote paste.
- Add the coconut milk and enough water or broth to make a soup base.
- Add the yuca, plantain, and carrot, and simmer until tender.
- Add the conch (or substitute seafood) and the hot pepper, and simmer briefly so the seafood stays tender.
- Finish with culantro and a squeeze of lime.