Sonoran Vegetable Soup with Fideo

Vegetable soup with fideo is everyday food in many Sonoran homes: toasted noodles, a sofrito of tomato, onion and garlic, and whatever vegetables are in season. Corn on the cob cut into chunks and chayote give it its northern, home-kitchen character.

Like nearly every soup in Sonora, it is finished at the table. The bowl comes out hot and everyone adds their own chiltepin, crushed or as a sauce. A few drops of La Yaquiyori are enough to wake the soup up without covering it, with heat that is lively but does not hurt.

Ingredients

• 200 g (7 oz) thin fideo noodles
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1/4 white onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1.5 liters (6 cups) chicken or vegetable broth
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 potatoes, cubed
• 2 zucchini, cubed
• 2 ears of corn, cut into chunks
• 1 cup green beans, cut into pieces
• 1 chayote, cubed
• Fresh cilantro, chopped
• Salt to taste
• La Yaquiyori chiltepin hot sauce, at the table

Method

1. Toast the fideo in the oil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until golden. Remove and set aside.

2. Blend the tomato with the onion and garlic, then fry the mixture in the same pot for 5 minutes.

3. Pour in the broth, add carrot, potato, corn, green beans and chayote, and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Add the zucchini and toasted fideo and cook 8 to 10 minutes more, until the noodles are soft. Season with salt.

5. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve; each person adds a few drops of chiltepin hot sauce to their own bowl.

Tips

Toast the fideo patiently over medium heat: if it burns, the whole soup turns bitter. Add the zucchini near the end so it does not fall apart. The noodles keep absorbing liquid as the soup rests, so add a little hot water when reheating leftovers. Put the chiltepin sauce in the bowl, not in the pot, and add it a little at a time.

Related reading

• Sonoran Caldo de Queso (Cheese and Potato Soup) with Chiltepin — 45 min · 6 servings · Soups
• Sonoran Caldo de Res (Beef and Vegetable Soup) with Chiltepin — 2 h 50 min · 8 servings · Soups
• Wild chiltepin recipes — All recipes