There are as many recipes for SOPA DE TORTILLA as there are Spanish classes having potlucks at the end of the school year. I say this because I got this very excellent recipe from a former student of mine at Colorado State University (my alma mater) who brought this soup to our end-of-the-year Spanish class potluck. It has been my favorite ever since, and that's been around 11 years.
Almost every Mexican restaurant here in town also serves SOPA DE TORTILLA. Some serve a watery caldo de pollo with chicken stock, over-cooked vegetables, and a few pieces of chicken breast meat. They cover up their little secret with tons of tortilla chips, grated cheese, and some avocado cubes. You can't see what's underneath until you eat all of that stuff off the top, and by then, it's too late to notice that the soup underneath is, well, lackluster.
The reason that I like this soup so much is that it is loaded with goodies (frijoles, tomates, chiles, carne de pollo, y vegetales) and the toppings play a supporting role. In fact, we have eaten this soup many times without them. It is just excellent - rich, thick and spicy. One bowl is a meal in itself, and there's no need for a side dish.
Thank you and credit go to my former student, Patty.
No comments:
Post a Comment