Mexican soup from La Cocina at El Pueblito cooking class from our trip to Mayakoba in the Riviera Maya.
This was one of the dishes we learned at our fun Mexican cooking class at La Cocina de Pueblito during our trip to Mayakoba in the Riviera Maya.
Credit to Chef Sandy for the recipe and methods – however, after testing at home – I made a few slight modifications. See my recipe below.
Aside from those three main points – the soup is basically a very simple chicken and vegetable stock with the addition of corn tortillas which acts as a thickener – and gives it that namesake tortilla flavor.
Try the recipe below, and let me know how it went! Did you love Epazote? Are you a toasted spice convert?
This basic soup is easy and healthy and with extra attention to roasting the vegetables and toasting the herbs and spices- you can create an exceptionally flavored soup that tastes way better than the sum of its parts. Take very simple ingredients and treat them right – you’ll have something special – something that tastes slightly exotic and familiar at the same time.
For this recipe, follow these guidelines:
Use Guajillo Peppers – they are a dried pepper with little heat (low on the scoville scale) but still provides a spicy richness. This is the bedrock of the flavor of the soup, this condensed dried pepper will provide deep rich color as well as the signature peppery, smokey flavor
Try to find Epazote – this green aromatic herb is foreign to most folks outside of Mexico, but is a common herb used in authentic mexican recipes – especially in the Yucatan area. It has a subtle, yet distinct smell and taste that adds a rustic/earthiness to the flavor. Smelled alone, it is strong smell – but once cooked into the recipe it’s not that strong. Of course, if you cannot find Epazote – you can always substitute the more recognizable cilantro and/or parsley. These are all distinctly different aromatic flavors, yet they are all complementary to the flavor of the soup.
Toast and grind your Herbs and Spices – Typically in the US we don’t toast or grind our herbs and spices – we just shake them out of a spice jar! But in this case – you should absolutely toast, then grind the spice mix. This means starting with whole peppercorns and whole cloves. The toasting and grinding highlights and draws out the natural oils that are still present in the dried spices – and in doing so you get a richer punch of flavor as opposed to the pre-ground, dried stuff in jars. To be honest – I’m pretty sure this is how dried spices should always be prepared! I’ve seen this preparation in Indian cooking – and now also Mexican cooking. Fair to say these folks are experts with spices – so trust the process!
TORTILLA SOUP
SERVES 4
INGREDIENTS
4 Cups / 960ml prepared Chicken Stock
10 oz / 300g Chicken Breast, skinless and boneless, shredded
2 Tomatoes / 300g, medium sized
1 White Onion, medium / 200g, quartered
6 cloves Garlic
1/4 Cup / 5g Epazote, chopped (if you can’t find this Mexican herb, parsley or cilantro would also work well)
4-5 whole / 30g Guajillo Chili Peppers, dry, cleaned and toasted
1 1/4 Cup / 100g Tortilla Corn Chips, crunched up
4 teaspoon / 20ml White Vinegar (+/- to taste)
2 teaspoons / 2g dried Oregano, toasted
2 teaspoon / 2g dried Thyme, toasted
1/2 teaspoon / 1g whole Clove, toasted
2 teaspoon / 2g whole Black Peppercorn, toasted
2 teaspoon / 10g Salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
Make stock base with chicken, roasted vegetables and toasted chili:
Fill medium pot with 10 cups/2365ml water and bring to low boil.
Place chicken in water to begin cooking, reduce to simmer.
Toast the guajillo peppers, tomatoes, onion and garlic in broiler on HI (or to lesser effect, in a large hot frying pan). Try to achieve roasting marks on all sides – being careful to not totally burn!… toast just enough to draw out aroma and flavor of each vegetable. Constantly watch the veg to be sure they dont burn – here are some timing tips:
Guajillo Peppers will burn fast – they only need about 2-3 minutes per side max.
Garlic will only need about 4-5 minutes per side.
Onions and Tomatoes will need the longest time – about 13-15 minutes, including flips and/or rotations.
Place toasted chili and roasted vegetables in stock pot with the chicken, liberally add salt and ground pepper to continue making the stock base.
Remove the chicken when it reaches an internal temperature of approximately 160 – about 15 minutes after you add the chicken. Set aside.
Remove all veg, set aside.
At this point, the stock should be flavorful, but if you prefer a more flavorful stock – you can cheat and add a bit of a bouillon cube our bouillon base (paste)
Toast and prepare the spices and herbs:
While stock is cooking, prepare the toasted herbs. Heat a medium shallow pan on the stove top. Add the peppercorns and cloves to the pan first for a few minutes. Toast until aromatic, you’ll notice the peppercorns beginning to “jump” and move on their own, and the cloves will turn grayish. This will only take about 3-4 minutes. Remove the cloves and peppercorns.
Toast the oregano and thyme until just loose their green color and begin to brown. These herbs will toast fast! Once done, set aside to cool.
Once herbs and spices are cooled, pulverize them together in mortar and pestle or small spice grinder (coffee grinder works well too)
Blend components to create the soup:
In a blender, place all roasted vegetables, hydrated chillis, 2 cups chicken stock, blend well until fully combined.
Add corn chips, epazote (or cilantro or parsley), vinegar, toasted spice mix and salt to blender. Blend until fully combined and smooth, add remaining 2 cups / 473ml stock.
Return combined soup to stock pot and heat on stovetop.
While soup is reheating on the stovetop, shred the chicken breast meat.
Serve. In a bowl place small mound of 75g/2.5 oz shredded chicken breast. Ladle heated soup around chicken.
Add garnish of extra corn chips, avocado slices, leaf/sprig of Epazote (or parsley, or cilantro) and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
