Our Latin cuisine expert, Amalia Moreno-Damgaard shares her recipe for this Central American Carribbean coast popular soup.

Hudutu con Machuca, seafood chowder with mashed plantain dumplings

Machuca (Mashed Plantains)

1 ripe plantain, cut into 2-inch slices
1 green plantain, cut into 2-inch slices
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Hudutu (Soup)

1 teaspoon canola oil
1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup julienned green bell pepper
1/2 cup julienned red bell pepper
1/2–1 teaspoon minced habanero chile
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
3/4 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground achiote
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground white or black pepper
1 cup clam or seafood stock
1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
2 (4-ounce) flounder fillets
2 (4-ounce) sole fillets
8 medium (50–70 count) shrimp, deveined, peeled, tails off
4 clams, scrubbed and debearded
4 mussels, scrubbed
Cilantro sprigs for garnish

In a medium saucepan, cook the plantains in 3 cups boiling water until soft but not mushy, about 20 to 25 minutes. Peel. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the plantains with 3/4 cup of the cooking water and the 3/4 teaspoon of salt until doughy and the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl, about 4 minutes. Form the dough into a ball with your hands, then pinch off and form golf-ball-size dumplings. Cover and keep warm.

In a medium soup pot, combine the canola oil, onion, garlic, bell peppers, habanero, cilantro, oregano, achiote, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and black pepper to taste and sauté  over medium high heat until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the stock and the coconut milk. Cover and simmer over medium low heat for 2 minutes. Add the flounder, sole, shrimp, clams, and mussels. Cover and simmer until the clams and mussels open, about 4 to 5 minutes more. Discard any clams or mussels that do not open.

Serve in bowls garnished with cilantro sprigs and the machuca dumplings on the side.