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Soups, Stews, Caldos, Sopas y Guisados

Mexican chicken soup with hominy and barley

15 · Nov 4, 2015 · 4 Comments

Nothing soothes the soul like chicken soup, no matter what country or culture you identify with. My version of Mexican chicken soup includes hominy and barley for a unique spin on this typical dish.

This post is sponsored by Teasdale Foods. All opinions and the recipe here are my own.

Make this hearty Mexican chicken soup with carrots, onion, Mexican oregano, chayote, hominy, barley and finish the flavor with lime juice and chile powder! Recipe via theothersideofthetortilla.com

RELATED RECIPE: Slow-cooker pozole rojo

My suegro loves the sopa de pollo from this place in Mexico City called el Ricón de la Lechuza, which has been around since 1971. What makes La Lechuza’s chicken soup different than most others is that in addition to the traditional homemade broth, carrots and celery, barley (called “cebada” in Spanish) lends a unique texture and adds to the nutritional profile of the dish.

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Pressure Cooker Recipes, Recipe, Soups, Stews, Caldos, Sopas y Guisados, Sponsored barley, cebada, chayote, hominy, Mexican oregano

Slow-cooker pozole rojo

176 · Oct 1, 2015 · 1 Comment

Pozole rojo is a hearty classic Mexican soup or stew, traditionally made with pork broth, pork, hominy, and spices, then topped with garnishes such as lime juice, radishes, onion, lettuce and more. It’s a popular traditional dish served throughout the country that is representative of Mexican cuisine.

This post is part of a compensated campaign with Teasdale Foods. All opinions and the recipe here are my own.

I admit that pozole can be an intimidating dish to make at home, mostly because making the perfect pork broth can be tough to match when you’re up against the memory of a beloved family member’s recipe. But I’ve found an awesome semi-homemade cheat for pozole that’s simple to prepare and easy to love!

I’ve used Teasdale’s new Easy Prep Spicy Red Pozole in this recipe, which is basically just cheating at the broth and hominy preparation—the two factors that often scare people away from making this traditional dish at home if they don’t have a trusted family recipe.

Pozole rojo is a hearty classic Mexican soup or stew, traditionally made with pork broth, pork, hominy, and spices, then topped with garnishes such as lime juice, radishes, onion, lettuce and more. It's a popular traditional dish served throughout the country that is representative of Mexican cuisine. Here's how to make pozole rojo in your slow-cooker with a semi-homemade cheat via theothersideofthetortilla.com.

What’s great about it also is that you can choose what kind of meat you want to add; I’ve chosen boneless country pork ribs because they’re easy to find, usually have a mix of dark and light meat, and they cook to tender perfection in a slow-cooker. Nothing beats low and slow, especially when there’s minimal effort involved.

The majority of the prep time for this recipe is for slicing and dicing your garnishes. I’ve also doctored the pozole to my personal taste by cooking the pork with bay leaves and Mexican oregano, and adding more chiles to the broth. The slow-cooker also means that most of the cooking is hands-off so you can be doing something else!

RELATED RECIPE: Slow-cooker carnitas

Pozole is a prehispanic dish that has been enjoyed in Mexico for many generations dating at least all the way back to the times of Moctezuma in the latter part of the 1400s, and the preparation still used and served today goes back to the 18th Century, according to culinary historians.

The three main types of pozole you’ll find all throughout Mexico are pozole blanco, pozole verde and pozole rojo. In Mexico City, where our family is from, you can find many varieties of the three typical colors of pozole served all over the city, including more than a dozen regional varieties from all over the country. And, they can have pork, chicken, shrimp, or be vegetarian-friendly, too. You can find pozole served everywhere from dedicated pozolerías to markets, fondas and even some high-end restaurants that serve traditional Mexican cuisine.

Traditional garnishes with pozole include:
sliced radishes, diced white onion, shredded iceberg lettuce or cabbage, chopped cilantro, fresh limes, dried Mexican oregano and chile powder, such as ground chile piquin.

In Mexico City, it’s very common to serve pozole with tostadas with crema mexicana spread on top, which is to be eaten alternating with a spoonful of pozole, then a bite of tostada.

Whether you love red, green or white #pozole, this traditional #Mexican dish is always fun to eat! Pozole is a hearty soup or stew, traditionally made with pork broth, pork, #hominy, and spices, then topped with garnishes such as lime juice, radishes, onion, lettuce and more. But there are also lots of regional variations of this prehispanic dish, which is popular all over #Mexico and is a staple of the cuisine. Check out my version using a #slowcooker and an awesome cheat that’s simple to prepare and easy to love! (Don’t forget the tostadas and crema on the side!) 😉 🐷🍲🇲🇽 #Recipe on theothersideofthetortilla.com! #teasdalefoods #ad #mexicanfood #comidamexicana #cdmx #chilango #pozolerojo #instavideo #instafood #instagood #instamex #stopmotion #food #hungry #soup #mydayinLA #fall #crockpot #crockpotcooking #pozoleando #pozolefordays #sopa #sopita

A video posted by Maura Hernandez (@maurahernandez) on Oct 1, 2015 at 9:20pm PDT

This recipe is most similar to Jalisco-style red pozole, and I’ve added a few extra ancho chiles to the broth for a deeper chile flavor. I like my red pozole fairly spicy, but you can leave them out if you’re not accustomed to spicy pozole. But if you do want to incorporate more heat, you can also puree the extra chiles with a little broth once hydrated, then strain them into the soup, or just add a sprinkle of ground chile piquin when serving.

Take care not to overcook the hominy, as it can become mushy. (When in doubt, you can always remove the hominy a little early and put it on the side while your broth is still cooking in the slow-cooker. You’ll know the hominy is done when it looked bloomed or fluffy.) Pozole reheats well and can also be frozen. If the broth is thicker than you’d like, you can also thin it out with a bit of chicken broth.

Do you like pozole rojo or pozole blanco better? Let me know why in the comments!

RELATED RECIPE: Frijol con puerco

Pozole rojo is a hearty classic Mexican soup or stew, traditionally made with pork broth, pork, hominy, and spices, then topped with garnishes such as lime juice, radishes, onion, lettuce and more. It's a popular traditional dish served throughout the country that is representative of Mexican cuisine. Here's how to make pozole rojo in your slow-cooker with a semi-homemade cheat via theothersideofthetortilla.com.
Print

Slow-cooker pozole rojo

Prep 30 mins

Cook 4 hours, 30 mins

Total 4 hours, 60 mins

Author Maura Wall Hernandez

Yield 6-8 servings

Pozole rojo is a classic Mexican soup or stew, traditionally made with pork broth, pork, hominy, and spices, then topped with garnishes such as lime juice, radishes, onion, lettuce and more. It's a popular traditional dish served throughout the country that is representative of Mexican cuisine.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds boneless country pork ribs (preferably with some dark meat and either a little fat marble or visible fat)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 large or two medium bay leaves
  • 1/4 teaspoon Mexican oregano
  • 1 can (108 ounces) of Teasdale Easy Prep Spicy Red Pozole
  • 2 ancho chiles, stem and seeds removed
  • Traditional garnishes: Sliced radishes, shredded iceberg lettuce, diced white onion, chopped cilantro, lime juice, ground chile piquin or ground chile ancho

Instructions

  1. Place the bay leaf or leaves on the bottom of the slow cooker.
  2. Arrange the boneless country pork ribs on their sides, covering up the bay leaf, and cover the bottom of the slow cooker.
  3. Sprinkle kosher salt and Mexican oregano over the meat. Cover the slow cooker and turn on low heat. Cook for 2 hours, turn meat, and cook for 1 more hour.
  4. After the third hour, open the can of Teasdale Easy Prep and pour the liquid in first. Spoon the hominy over the top and even out so everything is covered by broth.
  5. Turn slow cooker to high heat and cook for 1.5 to 2 hours, until the broth comes to a boil. Remove lid, turn off heat (or turn slow cooker to keep warm setting) and ladle into bowls.
  6. Garnish with a squeeze of lime juice, sliced radishes, shredded iceberg lettuce or cabbage, diced white onion, chopped cilantro, and a sprinkle of Mexican oregano and ground chile piquin or ancho (optional).

Notes

Serve with tostadas and crema mexicana.

Courses Lunch/Dinner

Cuisine Mexican

 

RELATED RECIPE: Slow-cooker cochinita pibil

 

 

Plato fuerte/Main dish, Recipe, Slow-Cooker recipes, Soups, Stews, Caldos, Sopas y Guisados, Sponsored boneless country pork ribs, chile ancho, chile piquin, guisado, hominy, pork, pozole, stew

Crema de elote

73 · Nov 24, 2014 · 4 Comments

Crema de elote, also sometimes known as crema de maíz, is a cream of corn soup commonly served in Mexico. This version is garnished with roasted corn, diced poblano chile, cotija cheese and crema Mexicana.

Mexican cream corn soup

This post is part of a compensated campaign with Maseca, but all opinions and the recipe are my own.

Crema de elote is a hearty soup that can serve as a meal on its own, or can be divided into four portions for an appetizer or small first course. This soup is thickened with whole milk and Maseca instant corn flour.

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Recipe, Soups, Stews, Caldos, Sopas y Guisados, Sponsored, Vegetarian/Vegetariano gluten-free, Maseca

Tomato chipotle soup with star pasta

12 · Sep 24, 2014 · 7 Comments

Mexican tomato chipotle soup with star pasta recipe from The Other Side of The Tortilla via @MauraHernandez

This post is part of a compensated campaign in collaboration with Barilla and Latina Bloggers Connect.

Tomato chipotle soup with star pasta is a spin on the classic Mexican comfort dish known as sopa de fideo.

I love to make this soup especially during the fall and winter months or on a cool, rainy day. And the star-shaped pasta rather than regular fideo is a fun addition for both adults and kids alike!

Although this soup is really not very spicy at all, if you’re worried about picky eaters, you can reduce the amount of chipotle pepper by half or completely replace the actual chile with a few tablespoons of adobo sauce.

Star-shaped pasta is a classic cut that’s perfect for introducing kids to the delicious world of pasta, and in Mexico, many children’s first experience is with estrellas or fideo.

RELATED RECIPE: Sopa de fideo…

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Recipe, Soups, Stews, Caldos, Sopas y Guisados, Sponsored Barilla, chile chipotle, chipotle en adobo, soup, tomato

Sopa de poro y papa

30 · Oct 17, 2011 · 10 Comments

I don’t know what it is about fall that makes me want to eat nothing but soup. I’d say it’s the chill in the air, but since we had an unusually warm beginning to October in Chicago like I mentioned last week, I know that can’t be the only factor. Come the beginning of fall, like clockwork, I always want to eat soup for lunch and dinner almost every single day. Now that the weather is cooling off, I have an entire page-long list of all the soups I want to make at home.

This particular recipe is one I’ve eaten many times in Mexico and I consider it to be a comfort food. During my visit to Mexico City last month, Luci, the family cook, made this as a first course for lunch on a chilly and gloomy afternoon and it was exactly what I needed to lift my spirits.

When I returned to Chicago, I was really missing our family so I decided to make this soup to cheer myself up. The truth is, there’s something about making recipes that I’ve eaten in Mexico that makes Chicago seem like it’s not so far away from the people and places I love in Mexico. Before the soup was even finished cooking, José said, “huele a mi casa.” (Translation: “It smells like my house.”) There are few compliments that warm my heart more, and I was feeling a little better already….

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Recipe, Soups, Stews, Caldos, Sopas y Guisados, Staple Recipes, Vegetarian/Vegetariano caldo de pollo, chicken broth, leeks, papas, poro, potatoes, puerro, Sopa, soup

Sopa de frijol negro con chipotle

5 · Oct 7, 2011 · 3 Comments

Check out this fantastic and hearty black bean and chipotle chile soup I made this week. There are three reasons I love this recipe: First, you can make it in the blender—so it’s very easy to clean up afterward. Second, the whole recipe from prep to bowl can be made in 15 minutes or less! And last but not least, this recipe is very healthy—it’s low-fat and high in fiber. It makes a great first course if you divide into smaller portions, or with a little bolillo roll and butter, it can make an excellent and filling lunch or dinner.

black bean chipotle soup…

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Comer Sano/Eat Healthy, frijoles/beans, Kenmore Genius Blog, Recipe, Soups, Stews, Caldos, Sopas y Guisados, Vegetarian/Vegetariano, Video ajo, black beans, caldo de pollo, cebolla, chicken broth, chile, chile chipotle, chipotle en adobo, comino, cumin, frijoles negros, garlic, Kenmore, Kenmore Genius Blog, Mexican oregano, onion, oregano Mexicano, Sopa, sopa de frijol negro, soup

Sopa de fideo

426 · Mar 8, 2010 · 27 Comments

I’m sharing my sopa de fideo recipe because this tomato-broth and noodle soup is a comfort food for me that evokes one specific fond memory.

After more than a decade of dreaming about visiting Teotihuacan, I finally made the 40-kilometer trip northeast of Mexico City in 2009 with my suegro and my cuñada. I yearned to visit this archaeological site since I first learned about it in history books as a kid. The Aztec pyramids fascinated me and I never dreamed I’d be able to travel there, let alone make it all the way to the top of the Pirámide del Sol.

How to make Mexican sopa de fideo from scratch via theothersideofthetortilla.com

RELATED RECIPE: Tomato chipotle soup with star pasta…

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Most Popular, Recipe, Soups, Stews, Caldos, Sopas y Guisados ajo, Aztecs, caldo de pollo, cazuela, cebolla, Ciudad de México, fideos, garlic, jitomate, Mexico City, noodles, onion, pasta, Pirámide del Sol, Pyramid of the Sun, sieve, Sopa, sopa de fideo, soup, Teotihuacan, tomatoes

SOPA DE TORTILLA

3 · Nov 22, 2009 · 4 Comments

I love tortilla soup. I will order it just about anywhere, at any time of year, and I’ve been known to judge the entire menu of a restaurant solely on the quality of their sopa de tortilla. I’m obsessed in every sense of the word–and having not been able to find a version I deem delicious in Chicago, I learned how to make it.

This soup is very representative of a typical Mexican kitchen and uses the traditional flavors and textures of the tomato, chile, avocado, epazote and tortilla. I’ve never cared much for tomato-based soups or broths, but this soup converted me.

The secret, I’ve found, is adding a few crunchy little pieces of chicharrón (also known as pork rinds or cracklings here in the U.S.). They add a depth to the soup’s flavor that I’m convinced cannot be achieved otherwise. All of my favorite places in Mexico for tortilla soup serve it similarly; all the ingredients for assembling the soup are brought to the table separately and the waiter puts it together right in front of you, almost like a little show with your meal….

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Back from Cancún…

4 · Nov 19, 2009 · 3 Comments

coconuts growing in Cancun

I’m back from Cancun and finally starting to recover from the intense humidity–about 95 percent–and nursing some mosquito bites so nasty that it looks like I’m coming down with a case of the chicken pox.

But aside from the weather (Hurricane Ida couldn’t stop me) and some bugs, Cancun did not disappoint.

There’s something I just love about coconuts–and piña coladas don’t even begin to cover it. All over Cancun, I saw palm trees with coconuts growing on them. In some cases, I saw them ripe and brown and falling off the tree; in other instances I saw gardeners trimming the leaves and picking up broken coconuts that had fallen to the ground. To some, getting to see coconut trees is no big deal, but to a Chicagoan it was a little slice of heaven. How glorious to have these natural beauties growing in your front yard or on the side of the road near where you live. These are things I dream about during the long Chicago winters.

As I was only in Cancun for a few days and working when I wasn’t sleeping, I didn’t get much of a chance to explore local taco joints much to my chagrin. But I did eat a few noteworthy items and jotted down a few thoughts to share.

sopa de lima

Sopa de lima, the quintessential Yucatecan dish, was undoubtedly the culinary highlight of my short trip. This version was the traditional broth with the addition of shredded chicken, strips of red bell pepper and nopales (also known as cactus paddle, and new to me as an ingredient of this soup), a generous floating slice of lime and a handful of perfectly crunchy tortilla strips which I promptly devoured before I even managed to take a photo.

I’m big on soups, and as my husband might also remind me, I’m big on lime juice even when it doesn’t technically belong there. I’ve never made sopa de lima at home; my first authentic taste of it was at El Faisan, a Yucatecan restaurant in Cuernavaca (a stone’s throw from Mexico City) about a year ago. Sopa de lima is simply a chicken stock-based soup with a lot less lime juice than you’d think neccesary in order to be called lime soup. A number of the recipes I’ve been studying include either serrano chiles or habaneros, and many have interesting spices like cloves or bay leaves and peppercorns in the preparation as well.

I’ll be experimenting with some sopa de lima recipes from Spanish-language cookbooks this winter, and when I find one that I think is worth sharing, I’ll let you know. I’m hoping to also get some more authentic sopa de lima taste-testing in when I travel to Cozumel soon. If you’ve got a good recipe, please get in touch and share so I can try it out. I’ve seen so many variations on the recipe that it almost makes my head spin when I think about it. Of course, I’ll be seeking advice and recipe suggestions from friends and family in Mexico when I make my annual December visit.

Other food notables from the trip: each day with breakfast, I ate chistorra, a notoriously fatty, delicious, fast-curing pork or pork/beef sausage not unlike chorizo (except for its size). The first night, I had a torta de cochinita pibil with an elegantly sliced avocado garnishing the plate, and as you can probably imagine, it didn’t take me too long to enjoy it–avocado and all.

I’d love to see any comments about your favorite Yucatecan foods as I’ll be headed back to the region in January.

  • How do you like your sopa de lima?

Soups, Stews, Caldos, Sopas y Guisados, Travel, Yucatán Cancún, Sopa, sopa de lima, Yucatán, Yucatan Peninsula, Yucatecan food

Calling all cooks: I'm looking for sopa de tortilla recipes

0 · Oct 14, 2009 · 2 Comments

3703322716_fc75434e76Though I’ve lived in Chicago most of my life, the chilly fall weather always seems to sneak up on me. Here we are in the middle of October and I’ve not made any tortilla soup yet! Those who know me will tell you: if I go to a restaurant with tortilla soup on the menu (even if it’s the middle of summer), I’ll order it. I’m serious about this soup, folks. I’ve been known to judge an entire restaurant solely on the quality of the tortilla soup they serve—no matter what else is on the menu.

The lack of tortilla soup in my house this far into October can only mean one thing: I’m about to go on a bender. So, I’m putting a call out. Send in your recipes and I will try each and every one I receive. The deadline to submit will be Friday, October 23rd and I’ll report back with both my recipe and my favorite recipe submitted by readers the week of November 15th.

I’ve got several favorite places in Mexico City where I go for tortilla soup and I’ll share those along with my recipe, too. You can submit your recipes here in the comments, or if you prefer, via email by clicking on the contact section to your right. There is one condition: your soup must be made from scratch with fresh ingredients (no canned soup bases) and should be based on tomatoes. I won’t try any recipe that isn’t based on tomatoes because then it wouldn’t be traditional tortilla soup.

Buena suerte!

Soups, Stews, Caldos, Sopas y Guisados, Staple Recipes aguacate, avocado, crema, sopa de tortilla, tomate, tomatoes, tortilla, tortilla soup

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¡Bienvenidos!

Hi, I'm Maura Hernández. Welcome to my kitchen! I'm an award-winning food and travel blogger, recipe developer, and former journalist sharing my passion for all things Mexico. Married to a Chilango, I've traveled Mexico extensively over the last 15 years. Here, you'll find a mix of traditional and modern Mexican cooking, along with my advice on where to eat, stay and play on your visit to Mexico! READ MORE

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