Preparing Delicious Colombian Cazuela de Mariscos

Colombia is a great place for exotic fruits and typical Colombian food is absolutely delicious. More importantly, Colombia has amazing soups, albeit few in comparison to other countries such as Mexico; nevertheless Colombia has its fair share of good soups. Enter Colombia seafood soup, it's called Cazuela de Mariscos. A vibrant seafood soup with beautiful flavors and spices all mixed in a pot with coconut milk. Cazuela de Mariscos comes from Colombia's Caribbean and pacific coastal regions cuisines and is a great Colombian dish to try. Now let me be honest with you, each region in the country offers different cuisines, but none can compete with the cuisine that comes from the Caribbean regions. I wish that I can cover all the foods that is offered from these coastal regions, but I want to focus on the seafood soup, because it is so easy to prepare that all you need is the ingredients, good friends and a big appetite. Lets begin with the preparation. First, we will need these as
followed: Spices and Seafood
Spices and Seafood

2 full white onion
3 red tomatoes
Fresh Tarragon leaves
3 or 4 fresh garlic pods
1 tablespoon of Mustard seed
1 tablespoon Cardamom seeds
1 tablespoon of Paprika
1 pinch of Cumin
pinch of sugar
1 Coconut
2 Green pepper
1 Red Pepper
1 cup oil Seafood mix
Salt Pepper to taste

You will want to begin by toasting the Mustard and Cardamom seeds on the skillet for about 1 minute or until you begin to smell the aromas of the seeds. Then place them in a rock mortar and grind the seeds with Cumin, Paprika, Salt and Pepper. Dice the onions, garlic, peppers, and tomatoes. Put oil in the pot, heat and place the diced onions in the pot and cook until transparent. Now place the garlic, tomatoes and peppers with the onions and cook until flavors are married (around 5 min). Add half of the grounded spices to the mix and cook for about 2 minutes. Next add the seafood mix and cook the seafood for about 2 minutes(Depending on the seafood selection, you may want to precook muscles or other tough seafood). Now add water to the pot depending on the amount of seafood you have( Fill pot with water above the seafood about 3 inches). Now comes the hard part. You will need to crack open the coconut and take out all the meat. Remember to save the coconut water too. Get a fork and extract the white meat from the coconut shell. Add the meat with the water to a blender and blend until creamy. Use a strainer and pour the coconut liquid in the pot. Return the mulched coconut to the blender and add some water, re-blend it and then add again to the soup. You might want to try extracting more if possible for a third time. Add the rest of the spices, salt, pepper, and sugar to taste and boil soup for about 1 hr with fresh minced herbs of Tarragon leaves.

That is all there is to it. A simple soup but with huge taste. I recommend preparing slices of baguettes for a side condiment and great tasting Pinot Grigio.