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Sopa de fideo
Toasted noodle soup in a light tomato and vegetable broth
Sopa de fideo is the soup almost every Mexican grew up on, served at home from Monterrey to Mérida as the first course of the midday meal. Thin fideo noodles (short broken vermicelli) are fried in oil until golden before the tomato broth goes in, which gives them a toasty, nutty flavour and stops them turning to mush. This version uses a vegetable stock, so it is vegan and very kind to small children. Serve it with lime, a little dried chilli for the grown-ups and bread or tortillas. Chef's tip: fry the noodles over a medium heat and keep stirring; they go from pale to golden to burnt in seconds, and you want the colour of a digestive biscuit.
- Total time
- 25 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Method
0/10 doneStep 1: Quarter 14 oz ripe tomatoes and put them in a blender with ¼ white onion, 1 clove garlic and 250 ml of the 1 cup vegetable stock. Blend for a full minute until very smooth.
2 minStep 2: Pour the purée through a sieve into a jug, pressing with a spoon. Removing the skins and seeds gives the silky broth children like.
2 minStep 3: Put the rest of 4 cups vegetable stock in a pan to warm over a low heat. Adding hot stock later keeps the soup at a simmer so the noodles cook evenly.
3 minStep 4: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a wide pot over a medium heat. Add 7 oz fideo pasta and stir so every strand is coated in oil.
1 minStep 5: Fry the noodles, stirring constantly, for 3–4 minutes, until they turn an even deep gold, like a digestive biscuit, and smell nutty and toasty. Toasting gives fideo its flavour and helps it keep its shape in the broth. If some strands race ahead and darken, pull the pot off the heat for a moment; black bits taste bitter and you would have to start again.
4 minStep 6: Pour the tomato purée over the noodles. It will hiss and spit hard, so stand back. Stir for 2 minutes, until the purée darkens to brick red and clings to the noodles; this fries out its raw edge.
2 minStep 7: Pour in the hot stock, then add 1 carrot, 3 sprigs fresh coriander and 1 tsp salt. Stir, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom, and bring to the boil.
2 minStep 8: Turn down to a gentle simmer and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring once or twice so the noodles don't clump, until they are soft and the carrot is tender. The soup should stay brothy: if the noodles drink too much, add a splash of hot water.
9 minStep 9: Fish out the coriander sprigs, taste and adjust the salt. A small squeeze of lime brightens the tomato.
1 minStep 10: Serve hot, with 1 lime and ½ tsp chipotle chilli flakes on the side for the adults. It keeps 3 days in the fridge but thickens overnight into a soft noodle stew; loosen it with stock or water as you reheat. Don't freeze it, as the noodles turn mushy.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 270 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sopa de fideo take?
- About 25 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 20 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 vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of ripe tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
- What can I use instead of white onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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