When cold winter days are here, there is nothing better than a good asopao to keep us warm. Asopao in Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico means a stew thickened with rice, some meat or pasta. My friend Luis Compres, prepares an excellent Dominican shrimp asopao. Today, I would like to share his recipe with all of you.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

3 oz vegetable oils
3 oz red onion
1 lb Dominican shrimps
1/2 ají or red pepper
1/2 ají or green pepper
2 oz celery
6 garlic cloves
2 tbs olives or cappers
2 oz paste tomato sauce
1 envelope of colouring
3 oz white wine
1/2 cup rice
32 oz water
Salt and pepper at taste

Preparation

Peel shrimps and boil peels with water.

When water is translucent or a bit white switch off the heat, drain water and remove peels. Leave liquid aside.

Heat 3 oz of oil on a pan over a medium heat. Add peppers, celery, onions, garlic and olives and stir.

Cook all ingredients 4-5 minutes over a medium-low heat and add the 3 oz of wine, salt and pepper, paste sauce and colouring.

Cook 5 minutes. Add the water where we cooked the shrimps and bring to boil.

Add rice and wait until the grain opens (10-12 minutes) to add shrimps. Cover and cook over a low heat 10 minutes or until the asopao is ready to serve.