Mexican Food Recipes

taco
References :

Sopa is a category of Mexican food. They can be wet (like soups in the US) or "dry" (like a side dish of rice). Here is a classic dish, tortilla soup:

2 Tablespoons olive oil (lard, if you want to be traditional)
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, left whole
4 canned tomatoes (about half a 15-ounce can), drained
6 cups stock–chicken is traditional, but vegetable is fine
1 dried ancho chile
Garnishes: fried corn tortillas; small cubes of fresh cheese (queso fresco or farmer’s cheese) or Monterey Jack; fine chopped avocado; fine chopped red pepper, wedges of lime; and crumbled ancho.

First cut off the stem of the ancho, cut it in half, and throw out the seeds. Reserve 1/4 of the dried chile to use as garnish, then soak the rest of it in hot water.

In a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil over medium heat until they are golden brown–as much as 12 minutes. Puree with the tomatoes and soaked ancho, then pour back into the saucepan with the stock. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

While broth is simmering, prepare tortillas. Traditionally, you cut day-old or dried-out corn tortillas in half, then slice the halves into thin strips–fry them on both sides in 1/3 cup of hot oil, until crisp–then drain. If time is of the essence, you can cheat with store bought.

When ready to serve, arrange cubed cheese and chopped pepper and chopped avocado in 4 flat soup bowls, then ladle over the broth, sprinkle each with the crumbled ancho, top with a mound of fried tortillas and serve with a lime wedge. The lime is important!

You could, of course, do all of this at the table for a truly dramatic presentation.
References :
http://www.soupsong.com/rtortill.html

Mexican Sopes
2 cups Matza Flour
3 teaspoons Baking Powder
½ Tablespoons Shortening
1 Cup Water
As Needed: Deep frying oil
Your choice topping: Refried beans, salsa, avocado, ground meat, sour cream or cheese

Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Cut in shortening until crumbly
Add ½ cup warm water gradually, stirring with fork
Knead until smooth and rest for ten minutes
Flatten and form into 3 inch rounds and fry for 30 seconds on each side
Choose any toppings you would like and bake in oven until cheese is melted.

SOPA DE LIMA (chicken-lime soup)
2 tbsp butter
1 white onion peeled and finely chopped
6 cups chicken stock
3 limes
1 chicken breast half (about 1/2 lb) on the bone
salt
4 fresh tortillas
vegetable oil or lard
2 medium tomatoes seeded and diced
1 small mild green pepper stemmed and diced
1 habanero pepper stemmed seeded and sliced

Melt the butter in a medium pot over medium low heat. Add onions and cook stirring occasionally until soft, about 20 minutes. Add the stock and juice of two limes and bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Reduce to medium heat.
Season the chicken breast with salt and add to the pot. Poach chicken until juices run clear when the breast is pricked, about 20 minutes. Move chicken to a plate and set aside. Cut tortillas into strips about 1 inch wide and then cut each strip into 4-5 triangles. Pour oil into a small pot (about 1-2 inches of oil) and fry tortillas in batches until crisp and golden, about 1-2 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels and season with salt while still hot. Remove and throw away the skin of the chicken. Remove all bones from chicken and throw away. Shred the chicken and divide it among 4 soup bowls. Reheat the broth and season to taste with salt. Place some tomatoes, peppers, chiles and fried tortilla chips in each bowl and cover with broth. Serve with lime wedges cut from remaining lime.

Sopa de Fideo
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces Fideo pasta
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
4 ounce green chilies, chopped
8 ounce tomato sauce
2 cups water

In a wide skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 10 min, until quite reduced in size and golden, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 min more. Break the fideo into short lengths (2 inches or so) and add them to the skillet as you do. Stir and cook for 3-4 minute They will turn opaque and then begin to brown. Stir them often, and when many of them are brown and the others are opaque, add the salt, pepper, cumin, green chilies, tomato sauce, and water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 min or until the noodles are tender.
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