Being born in New York, growing up in South Florida, living in Central Florida and moving to Denver just a few years ago has had allowed me to meet so many people of so many diverse backgrounds. It has been a motivating factor behind starting this little blog of mine. Last time, you all met my Polish bestie, Steffi and her moms awesome pierogis. This week, we drew Colombia and now you get to meet my dear friend Lina, and her favorite dish, Cazuela de Mariscos. It was great for me, this recipe resembled Italian ciopinno, which is pretty much my favorite dish of all time. Chris liked it because ‘casserole’ is in the name. He does not like that I said that out loud for the whole internets to know…
We met Lina and her family while we lived in Orlando. Our two older boys were placed on the same soccer team at maybe three or four years old. Boy, she was intimidating at the start. I made a not-very-well-received joke about the boys’ lack of soccer skill but love of team snacks, and that was the end of all parent sideline conversation for that season. I never thought we’d see them again, but I also thought Luke would never play soccer again – he was the butterfly chaser that season.
Fast-forward a few years and we decided to try soccer out again. I sign up with the local league and you wouldn’t believe it but Lina’s husband, Stefan, was now Luke’s coach. (Also, he’s from France, so we have to celebrate that too!) Fortunately, I was the only one remembered my awkward weirdness from years before. Wouldn’t you know, our boys then played soccer together for the next approximately infinity seasons. We have come to cherish Lina, Stefan and their boys, Adrian and Gabeto. We have vacationed together (Beaver Creek and Park City!), shared many family dinners, and even formed our own grown-up championship soccer team. Where not ironically enough, I was the butterfly chaser and ultimate snack eater. They were some of the first people to come visit us when we moved to Colorado. They are such a wonderful family and we cherish their friendship so deeply.
Cazuela de Mariscos (Seafood Casserole)
Ingredients: (There are a good amount, but it’s worth it!)
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 c. green pepper, finely diced
- 1/2 c. red pepper, finely diced
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1/2 c. carrot, grated
- 4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
- 3 tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 cup, seafood stock
- 1/2 cup, white wine
- 1 14oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 cup, heavy cream
- 1 lb. shrimp (peeled/deveined)
- A dozen clams
- 1 lb. mussels
- 1/2 lb. white fish (we use Chilean Sea Bass), cut into 1 inch squares
- 1 tbsp. paprika
- salt and pepper, to taste
Directions
- Over medium-high heat, warm the olive and saute peppers, carrots, onions and garlic until they are soft – about 10 minutes. Add in the paprika.
- Add in the tomato paste, seafood stock and wine. Reduce the heat to medium and allow this to simmer for 5 minutes
- Next, add the coconut milk and heavy cream. Stir.
- When the sauce is warm again, add in the clams/fish/shrimp and return to a medium-high heat. Allow enough time for the seafood to cook through.
- Serve hot, with rice and garnish with cilantro and limes.
Colombia: Cazuela de Mariscos (Seafood Casserole)
