Mexican Menu 238 - Sopa Tarasca

The other night we made the BAKED CHILE RELLENOS, and when we made them we were thinking ahead. Remember the PICADILLO stuffing we made for the rellenos? We made extra so that the next day we could eat tacos. Quick recipe: Heat corn tortillas (we use our comal, which is a Mexican griddle that sits on our stove top 24/7), then fill the hot corn tortillas with your choice of picadillo, salsa, queso fresco, and shredded lettuce. We put bowls of each in the middle of the table, along with our tortilla basket full of the hot tortillas, then sit and assemble tacos right at the table over our plates.
The picadillo tacos weren't the only leftovers from the chile relleno dinner. We had also made a huge pot of frijoles pintos, which were delicious, and become even more tasty after sitting in the fridge for a day or two. So, last night we took them out of the fridge, and used them as the main ingredient in a Sopa Tarasca, a dish I learned to prepare in Morelia, Mexico while on a study abroad trip with my students from Oregon.
Sopa Tarasca is basically a puree of frijoles which is then mixed with some chicken stock, tomatoes, onions, garlic and seasonings (chile powder, cumin and salt) I also blend one chipotle chile into my puree before adding the other ingredients just to make sure that the sopa is spicy enough! Before serving, we have toasted some corn tortilla strips; we have cut one dried chile ancho into strips; and we have grated some queso fresco. These appear on the table in bowls, and one can add as much or as little as one likes to the soup. I always add the queso first so that it can slowly melt. The chile ancho strips come next so that they can soften up a bit, and the tortilla strips come last so that they remain crispy.
Last night's Sopa Tarasca was amazing! It must have been the leftover frijoles...