Chowders often feature seafood (think Boston and New England chowders) so having shrimp in your chowder is not a unique concept. What is unique is trying a chowder that has a latin twist.
I know what you are thinking, the chowder probably has lime, avocado, cumin, or some sort of spicy chili that makes it “latin”. That is not the case at all. What makes this dish latin is the preparation of the shrimp.
They are marinated in an achiote paste and then cooked in the same pot which will be later used to make the chowder. This process gives the shrimp, and the chowder an earthy flavor, unlike anything you have ever tried before.
Ingredients
To marinate the shrimp:
- 1 lb of medium size shrimp, peeled and deveined
- ½ lb of large whole shrimp or prawns, for garnishing
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 ½ teaspoons of ground annatto (achiote), adjust more or less based on your preference – can use paprika if you can’t find annatto
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of ground pepper
For the chowder:
- 4 tablespoons of butter or oil
- ½ white onion finely diced
- 2 celery stalk, finely diced
- ¼ cup of white wine (any dry/non-sweet white wine will work)
- 3 lbs of potatoes, peeled and cut into medium or large pieces, use Yukon gold in the US or papa chola in Ecuador
- 4 cups (1 liter) of seafood stock or broth, can also use fish or vegetable stock
- 3 ears of corn, in kernels or slices, about 10 ounces of kernels (can use frozen corn)
- 1 ½ cups of milk
- ½ cup of cream
- 1 tablespoon of finely chopped cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
To garnish and serve:
-
Chopped cilantro
-
Chopped green onions or chives
-
Avocado, sliced or diced
-
Lime slices
-
Aji style hot sauce
This recipe may seem complex because it has a large number of ingredients but it’s not and it’s totally worth preparing. Head over to the next page to for the step by step instructions.
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