Serious Eats: Recipes
Dinner Tonight: Sopa Tarasca
"It's similar to tortilla soup, but with a richer, deeper broth."
[Photograph: Nick Kindelsperger]
I had no idea what sopa tarasca was before yesterday. Honestly, I'm still not sure if I completely comprehend the exact definition, but I can confirm that it's one of the best meals I've had in weeks.
I found out about the soup from this article in the New York Times, which traces the soup back to the town of Pátzcuaro in the Mexican state of Michoacán, where it was apparently invented in the 1960s. According to the author of the article, Dave Roos, sopa tarasca is a "tomato-based soup flavored with dried chili pasilla and Worcestershire sauce, thickened with corn masa and cream, and adorned with fried tortilla strips and Oaxacan cheese."
For the life of me I couldn't find a recipe that followed those guidelines, though I did find this version from Diana Kennedy by way of the Texas Monthly magazine. It doesn't follow the article's description precisely, but you can't argue with results like this.
It's similar to tortilla soup, but with a richer, deeper broth. That's the result of blending up the chiles, tomatoes, and other vegetables, then frying them in a skillet over high heat until they reduce down to a paste. Chicken broth is added, along with sprinkling of freshly fried tortilla strips and ancho chiles.
It's a satisfying soup—even more so when you consider how easily it all comes together.