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seafood soup in a large deep bowl with bowls of garnish and bread on the table
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Caldo Siete Mares (Seafood Soup)

My version of a delicious seafood soup inspired by the Mexican Caldo Siete Mares
Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine Mexican
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings 6 Servings

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion divided in half
  • 4 large roma tomatoes
  • 5-6 cloves of garlic look for large cloves
  • 2 guajillo peppers stems and seeds removed
  • 8-9 cups water or low sodium chicken or seafood broth
  • 3 tbsp tomato/chicken bouillon optional (knorr)
  • Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
  • 1 chayote squash peeled and diced
  • 2 large carrots peeled and sliced in half moons
  • 2 celery sliced thin
  • 2 jalapenos minced
  • Handful of washed Cilantro plus more for garnish
  • Avocado or extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • Salt to taste
  • dried crushed chile de arbol to taste
  • 2 pounds frozen seafood mix defrosted
  • 20 Texas gulf coast shrimp shells on, defrosted
  • Garnish
  • 1/3 Cup More cilantro finely chopped
  • Crushed chile de arbol to taste
  • 8 Radishes sliced
  • 2 Limes sliced into wedges
  • Bolillo bread, Tostadas or chips
  • 1/3 Cup red onion diced

Instructions

  • Preheat a large griddle or comal for a few minutes at medium heat.
  • After a few minutes, add the tomatoes, half of the onion(dice the other half and reserve) and cloves of garlic with skins on. On one side of griddle, toast the dried chile guajillo for 30 seconds per side or until they become aromatic. Remove the dried chiles and place them in a bowl with very hot water, reserve.
  • Continue dry roasting the tomatoes, onion and garlic for 25 minutes, removing the garlic after 15 minutes.
  • After 25 minutes of dry roasting, tranfer the tomatoes, onion, peeled garlic, softened dried chiles, 2 tbsps tomato/chicken bouillon, 1/2 tsp pepper and 2 cups of water to the blender. Blend until smooth. Taste for salt, then set aside.
  • To a large pot, add 2 tablespoons of oil and 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter. After a few minutes, add in the onions, jalapeno, carrots, chayote and celery. Stir well to combine. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes.
  • To the pot with vegetables, pour in the blended tomatoes. Stir to combine and cook for 5 minutes. Pour in 6-7 cups of water or low sodium chicken broth. Mix in 1 more tablespoon of the tomato/chicken bouillon. When it comes up to a boil, taste for salt. Adjust to your liking.
  • After the broth simmers for 5-7 minutes, mix in the 2 pounds of defrosted seafood. Stir gently and let it cook for 5-6 minutes. Add the shrimp, making sure you stir everything and making sure shrimp is covered with broth. Let everything cook for 5 minutes and then gently stir to make sure shrimp are pink and opaque, cooked all the way through.
  • If ready, serve right away. Garnish with cilantro, radishes, onion, crushed chile de arbol and lime wedges. Serve with tostadas or crusty bolillo bread.

Notes

The soup base can vary. Sometimes I like to dry roast some chile jalapeno or serrano to blend with the tomatoes, onion, garlic and chile guajillo. The vegetables added can vary too. The first recipe had potatoes and celery. The second recipe had way more chayote and no celery. If you are in a hurry, take a short cut and use salsa El Pato in the yellow can as your soup base. You will just add some broth to thin it out to your liking.