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Sopa de capirotadas
Sopa de capirotadas: Honduran Lent soup with fried corn-and-cheese dumplings
During Lent, Honduran kitchens from Tegucigalpa to Comayagua turn meatless Fridays into an excuse for capirotadas: little cakes of corn dough and salty dry cheese, fried until golden and then dropped into a tomato and sweet-pepper broth tinted orange with achiote. The dumplings drink up the broth and turn soft and cheesy outside while staying firm in the middle; eat it with warm tortillas and a squeeze of lime. Honduran queso duro is usually made with animal rennet, so for a strictly vegetarian pot use a vegetarian hard cheese such as an aged vegetarian feta. The mistake most people make is a dough that is too wet: soft capirotadas fall apart first in the oil and then again in the soup. Chef's tip: fry the dumplings a few hours ahead and add them to the broth only for the last five minutes, so they keep their shape.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the capirotadas
- 7 oz masa harina
- ¾ cup warm water
- 4 oz hard dry cheese (queso duro)finely grated; vegetarian if needed
- 2 eggs1 separated
- ½ tsp baking powdergluten-free
- 1 ¼ cups vegetable oilfor shallow frying
For the broth
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 1 green pepperdiced
- 2 cloves garliccrushed
- 3 ripe tomatoesgrated, skins discarded
- 1 tsp ground annatto (achiote)
- 5 cups vegetable stockgluten-free
- 2 potatoessmall, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes
- ½ tsp saltto taste
- ⅓ oz fresh coriander (optional)chopped
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Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Mix 7 oz masa harina with ¾ cup warm water into a soft dough, cover and leave for 10 minutes so the flour hydrates.
10 minStep 2: Knead in 4 oz hard dry cheese (queso duro), ½ tsp baking powder, one whole egg and the yolk from 2 eggs. Keep the leftover white. The dough should feel like play dough and hold a pinch without cracking or sticking to your hands; add a spoonful of masa harina if it is tacky.
Step 3: Roll the dough into 16–20 balls the size of a walnut and flatten each into a thick little cake about 1.5 cm high.
Step 4: Whisk the egg white until foamy. Heat 1 ¼ cups vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat until a crumb of dough sizzles at once.
Step 5: Dip each cake in the egg white and fry in batches for 2–3 minutes a side until deep golden and firm. Drain on kitchen paper.
10 minStep 6: For the broth, warm 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large pan over a medium heat and soften 1 onion, 1 green pepper and 2 cloves garlic for 6 minutes until the onion is translucent.
6 minStep 7: Stir in 3 ripe tomatoes and 1 tsp ground annatto (achiote) and cook for 5 minutes until the tomato darkens and thickens into a paste.
5 minStep 8: Pour in 5 cups vegetable stock, add 2 potatoes and ½ tsp salt and simmer for 12–15 minutes until the potatoes are tender when pierced.
15 minStep 9: Slide in the capirotadas and simmer very gently for 5 minutes, without stirring hard, until they are hot and slightly swollen.
5 minStep 10: Taste for salt (the cheese is salty), then ladle into bowls, 4–5 dumplings each, with ⅓ oz fresh coriander over the top.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 16 g
- Carbs
- 44 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sopa de capirotadas take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of eggs?
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
- What can I use instead of baking powder?
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar per 1 tsp.
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