Sopa de Fideo

Sopa de Fideo (noodle soup)

Serves 6

Sopa de Fideo is simple yet flavorful Mexican soup!

Homemade Sopa de Fideo (noodle soup) is one of my favorite dishes.

This is Mexican lunchtime comfort food in the way that grilled cheese and tomato soup is in the U.S. Think warm fuzzies in a bowl. Every kid in Mexico grows up on it and everyone, young and old, still eats it regularly as part of the typical comida.

Serve it with a squeeze of live, fresh avocado and fresh warm tortillas!

Ingredients:

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

8 oz. uncooked vermicelli noodles

1/2 tsp cumin

28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes

6 cups chicken broth

1 medium jalapeño (optional)

1 medium lime

1/4 bunch fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions:

Dice the onion and mince the garlic so they are ready to go when needed.

Add the vegetable oil to a large soup pot. Break the vermicelli noodles into one to two inch sections and then add them to the pot. Cook the dry noodles in the oil over medium-low heat while constantly stirring for 3-5 minutes, or until the noodles have turned golden brown and are slightly blistered.

Add the diced onion, minced garlic, and cumin to the pot with the noodles and continue to cook and stir for few minutes more, or until the onions have softened.

Add a little of the juice from the can of tomatoes to the pot to stop the browning of the noodles. Use a blender or immersion blender to purée the canned tomatoes along with their remaining juices. Add the puréed tomatoes to the pot with the noodles, along with the six cups of chicken broth.

If using a Jalapeno pepper, add it to the pot whole (this gives a slight jalapeño flavor without too much heat). Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium high, and allow it to come to a boil. Let the pot simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the noodles are soft.

Add lime juice and roughly chopped cilantro leaves to the finished soup just before serving.