Brazilian Shrimp Soup

I am always looking for new soup recipes to try.  I know it’s still the middle of the summer, but I find soup to be a wonderful meal year-round (we do have air conditioning, after all!)  I loved this meal because it was a bit out of the ordinary from the things I usually make, and a welcome change.  The soup is a tomato base thickened by the addition of rice and chopped veggies.  Coconut milk is mixed in to lend a muted tropical flavor, and the cilantro adds an earthy brightness.  Not only was this delicious, it was a fairly quick weeknight meal, and healthy too!  All good things.  This time I used smaller shrimp because that was all I had on hand.  Next time I will either use larger shrimp, or not cut the smaller ones in half.  Otherwise, this is fantastic and I can’t wait to have it again!  I made a half batch which yielded about three servings, but next time I think I’ll make a full batch and have the leftovers for lunches.

Brazilian Shrimp Soup
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Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup long-grain rice
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
1 ¾ tsp. salt
1 ¾ cups canned crushed tomatoes
5 cups water
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
1 ½ lbs. medium shrimp, peeled and cut in half horizontally
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup cilantro, chopped

Directions: 
Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes.  Add the rice, red pepper flakes, salt, crushed tomatoes, and water to the pot.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, for 10 minutes or until the rice is almost tender.  Stir in the coconut milk.  Return the mixture to a simmer, then stir in the shrimp.  Simmer just until the shrimp cooked through, about 3-5 minutes.  Stir in the pepper, lemon juice and cilantro.  Serve immediately.

Source: adapted from Liz’s Cooking Blog