So far, 2023 has felt abnormally chilly. Although I can eat soup all year round, something about cold, rainy days makes me crave it even more. I have several go-to soups like kale with sausage, albondigas and pozole, to name just a few. A few months ago, my youngest sister and I were chatting, and she asked if I had ever had "tlalpeño." Not only had I never had it, I had never heard of it. She told me what it was and that it was a favorite soup from a sit-down Mexican restaurant near where she used to live in Chula Vista. She said it was chicken soup like our family had never made and that I would love it. So I set out to research and make it and absolutely fell in love with it.
Caldo Tlalpeño hails from Tlalpan, Mexico City's largest borough. It's a wonderfully comforting chicken soup with carrots, green beans and garbanzo beans. The defining feature of this soup is the tomato salsa added to the freshly made chicken stock. Chipotles in adobo and epazote (a pungent-smelling herb with notes of oregano, citrus, anise, thyme and mint used in Mexican cooking) give the salsa its distinctive flavor.
It starts with the chicken
While researching the soup, I came across recipes on mainstream sites that used leftover chicken for a "quick" version of this soup. Honestly, I don't see the need. The soup doesn't take long to make, and the flavor you get from poaching chicken fresh far outweighs the extra 30 minutes.Also, many recipes I saw used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which is fine if that's all you have. But the key to a better-tasting broth is using bone-in breasts. With food prices being what they are right now, buying a whole chicken and breaking it down yourself is more economical than buying boneless skinless breasts. For example, when I picked up the chicken for my recipe testing, I paid $1.99 a pound for a whole chicken from a big national brand, while the store brand of skinless, boneless chicken at the same grocery store was $3.99 a pound (the national brand was $5.49 a pound). The 5.2-pound bird I bought was $10.05. This recipe calls for two large breasts and makes four to six servings. That leaves two drumsticks and two thighs for another meal, plus a backbone and wings for homemade broth. In contrast, the store-brand 3-pound package of boneless chicken breasts was $12.17.
How to make Caldo Tlalpeño
I broke this chicken down into 4 pieces plus the backbone, keeping the wings attached to the breast and the legs in quarters. Here's a good video from Serious Eats that shows how simple the process is:
Toss the chicken into a 5-quart stockpot. I've kept the wings attached to the breasts because the collagen in the wings will add richness to the broth. To further help the broth develop flavor, I've tossed in the backbone as well. To cut down on the amount of fat in the broth, I removed the skin from all but the wing tips. I also trimmed away some of the excess fat.
Add the onion, garlic, celery, bay leaves (I'm using fresh), peppercorns, and bouillon (I'm using it to kickstart the broth base in place of salt).
Pour in 8 cups of water and place over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. When the water comes to a boil, turn the heat to medium-low and set your timer for 20 minutes. Keep an eye on the chicken so that you can skim and discard the foam as it rises. When the timer goes off, remove the chicken from the heat and let it sit in the broth for 10 minutes.
Rinse and trim the green beans; cut them into 1½ to 2-inch pieces and set aside.
Peel the carrots; cut them on the bias (at a slight angle) into ¼-inch thick coins and set aside.
Next, let's start the salsa. This salsa is what gives this soup its unique taste, taking this beyond your average chicken soup.
Thoroughly rinse the guajillo chiles. Pat dry. Snip off the stem.
Cut up the side of the chile to expose the inside.
Remove and discard the veins.
Remove and discard the seeds.
Repeat with the second chile, then cut them into thirds.
This is what epazote looks like. I'm using two sprigs.
Toss the tomatoes, onion, garlic chiles and epazote into a 3-quart pot. Add water to cover, then bring to a boil. Cover and turn off the heat. Let steep for 15 minutes.
Transfer to a blender. Add the chipotles and adobo (1 chipotle is mild to medium; add 2 for medium to hot and if you like it really spicy, add 3), salt and a quarter cup of steeping water.
Blend until ultra smooth; set aside.
Transfer the chicken to a platter or sheet pan. Strain the broth, discarding the solids and reserving the broth. When the chicken has cooled enough to handle, pull it off the bone and tear it into bite-size chunks. I suggest doing this by hand – you don't want shredded chicken …
… You want chicken pieces that are a substantial bite, like these.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a 5-quart stockpot. Once shimmering, carefully pour in the blended salsa. Add a cup of the broth to the blender jar, shake to loosen any sauce left behind and pour it into the stockpot.
Cook, occasionally stirring, for 15 minutes or until the color changes to a deeper red.
Add the reserved broth, simmering for 5 minutes to heat through.
Drop in the chickpeas, and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the carrots, simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the green beans. Cook for 5 minutes.
Toss in the chicken and cook to heat through, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and ladle into bowls.
Garnish each bowl with avocado slices, panela cheese and cilantro. Optionally, some people also add a whole chipotle pepper in adobo directly into their bowl – too spicy for me but if you love that smoky heat, go for it!
Caldo Tlalpeño
Buying a whole chicken and cutting it down yourself is preferable so you have the wings and backbone to give the broth more substance. If you bought bone-in chicken breasts, it isn't a deal-breaker here, and you can ignore the backbone in the ingredient list.Makes 4 to 6 servings
FOR THE CHICKEN:
2 large bone-in chicken breasts with wings attached, skin removed1 chicken backbone
½ medium white onion
4 fat cloves garlic, peeled
2 large celery ribs, halved
3 fresh or 2 dry bay leaves
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon (can substitute with sea salt)
8 cups water
FOR THE SALSA:
1 pound very ripe roma tomatoes½ medium white onion
2 fat cloves garlic, peeled
2 to 3 sprigs epazote (10 to 12 leaves)
2 guajillo chiles, rinsed and dried, stems and seeds removed, cut into thirds
Water
1 to 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, with 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon neutral oil (I like high-oleic safflower or avocado oil)
FOR THE SOUP:
1 (16-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into coins about ¼ inch thick
1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed, cut into about 2-inch pieces
TO GARNISH:
Avocado, slicedPanela cheese, cubed
Cilantro leaves
Add all the ingredients for the chicken to a 5-quart stockpot and place on medium-high. When the water comes to a boil, turn the heat to medium-low and set your timer for 20 minutes. Skim and discard the foam that rises. When the timer goes off, remove the chicken from the heat and let it sit in the broth for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a 3-quart pot, add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, epazote and guajillo chiles. Add water to cover and bring to a boil. Cover and turn off the heat. Let steep for 15 minutes. Transfer to a blender. Add the chipotles and adobo (1 chipotle is mild to medium; add 2 for spicier soup), salt and a quarter cup of steeping water; blend until ultra smooth; set aside.
Transfer the chicken to a platter or sheet pan. Strain the broth, discarding the solids and reserving the broth. When the chicken has cooled enough to handle, pull it off the bone and tear it into bite-size chunks; set aside.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in the stockpot. Once shimmering, carefully pour in the blended salsa. Cook, occasionally stirring, for 15 minutes or until the color changes to a deeper red. Add the reserved broth, simmering for 5 minutes to heat through. Drop in the chickpeas, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the carrots, simmer for 5 minutes, then add the green beans. Cook for 5 minutes. Toss in the chicken and cook to heat through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve, garnishing each bowl with avocado slices, panela cheese and cilantro.
Until next time, friends … stay warm!
xo, ani
Comments
Post a Comment