Caldo de  Mariscos is a brothy Mexican soup with fish, shrimp and seafood.

Caldo de Mariscos (Mexican Seafood Soup)

by Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime

Another month has  gone by and once again it is time for Blogger C.L.U.E.

Where does the time go? Really, I have no idea!

Blogger C.L.U.E. is a fabulous group of bloggers who once per month sample the offerings from another group member’s blog, then blog about it (as I am about to do here). These run on a theme that changes from month to month (last month was eating healthy, in which I made Couscous with Chicken and Vegetables from the blog Anna Dishes.)

This month, the excitement is all about Soups & Stews, and I was fortunate enough to be assigned Heather at All Roads Lead to the Kitchen (as she has about a billion soup recipes and must have something wonderful simmering away in her soup pot every single day). So I browse her recipes and my eye suddenly spots the word Caldo in several places, and I am instantly in love. Exploring the recipes in greater detail does not disappoint, except the one I want most (Mariscos or Seafood) was mysteriously missing. However, I quickly honed in on the Caldo de Camerones y Pescado, which is quite similar, and uses shrimp and fish. At the market, though, I couldn’t leave the package of mixed seafood with calamari, mussels, clams and shrimp alone, so I opted for that instead of a second type of shrimp the original recipe calls for, and have ended up with something quite like Caldo Mariscos after all. See how easy it is to switch gears in the kitchen? Sometimes out of necessity, other times out of choice, but usually everything ends well.

One of the necessities I had to change in this recipe was the dried chilies. I usually have every chile known to mankind in my pantry, but for some odd reason, was out of the whole dried pasilla chiles, which is one of the larger ones that are usually used when making mole.They had a supply at the market, but being the snob I can sometimes be, I didn’t like their color (they looked really really old) and since I didn’t want to market-hop in search of the lost chile, I decided to buy a bottle of pre-ground pasilla powder, which would change the method in the soup making, but really, it would be good for people to see how Heather does hers with whole chiles, and what to do if you have to use ground chile powder. Of course, if you can’t find that either, or something about what the market offers is untoward, you can always opt for the garden-variety of chili powder. But unless it is pure ground California or New Mexico chile, it is going to have “filler” in it as well (lots of cumin for one thing) and cumin will radically alter the flavor profile. Not in a bad way, I would think, but it isn’t going to be the same. If you do happen to have the whole chiles, besides the way Heather mentions of cooking them until soft and buzzing up in the food processor, there is a third way, where you lightly toast the peppers until aromatic (either over a flame or under the broiler)(don’t burn them!), then tear off the stems and seed pod, shake out any excess seeds, and buzz them up in a spice grinder to make your own ground chile powder. I do this all the time as I like to concoct my own chili powder blends and ground chiles for enchilada sauce. Besides being customized to my tastes, it is also much cheaper to buy the chiles that way and  do things yourself.

But back to the soup. This is a brothy soup, and will be a bit brothier than what you see in the photo. I was not trying to be dishonest about it, but plated the soup so you could see the contents. If you do want more filler, add about 1/3-1/2 more of the ingredients  for a well stocked soup. But since I am dieting, brothy is fine with me. You choose how you like it. But if you change the ingredients and are watching WW points, remember to recalculate that on your own.

BLOGGER C.L.U.E.

Check out the participating Blogger C.L.U.E. members this month as we sample each other’s soup  and stew recipes. Don’t forget to pin your favorites so you don’t lose them!

• • Caldo de Mariscos – Mexican Seafood Soup by Sue from A Palatable Pastime (You are Here!)
  • Cheddar Cheese Soup by Kathy from A Spoonful of Thyme
  • Chicken Asado by Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm
  • Classic French Onion Soup by Lisa from Authentic Suburban Gourmet
  • Creamy Ham Swiss Potato Soup by Amy from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
  • Egg Drop Soup by Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva
  • Egg Drop Soup by Rebekah from Making Miracles
  • Ginger Lemon Chicken Soup by Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch
  • Italian Soup by Anna from annaDishes
  • Mini Ham, Cheese and Pepper Frittatas by Karen from Lavender and Lovage
  • Okie Peasant Potato Soup by Stacy from Food Lust People Love
  • Potato and Ham Chowder by Kate from Kate’s Kitchen
  • Roasted Red Pepper Soup by Azmina from Lawyer Loves Lunch
  • Roasted Squash and Apple Soup by Jean from Lemons and Anchovies
  • Rustic Tortellini Soup by Debra from Eliot’s Eats
  • Simple Cheese Soup by Heather from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen
  • Veggie Chili by Lauren from Sew You Think You Can Cook

You might also like:

Caldo de Camaron  (Mexican Shrimp Soup)

Roasted Tomato Soup

Rustic Tortellini Soup

French Tomato Lentil Soup

Meatball and Noodle Soup (Sopa Albondigas  con Fideo)