- door way into a secret jardin, Patzcuaro.
It was in 1976 that I first went to Patzcuaro, and on that first trip I fell in love with the city. And when I was in Patzcuaro, I fell in love with Sopa Tarasca and had it almost every day. So I was delighted to find that the first thing we made in our class on the food of the food of Michoacán was Sopa Tarasca!
Sopa Tarasca
Although similar to other forms of ‘tortilla’ soup, at least in the garnishes of cream, cheese, avocado, crumbled pasilla chiles and deep-fried julienned tortillas, this soup has a base of pureed tomatoes, Guajillo chiles and Flor de Mayo beans. I love this soup, but would never have guessed that it had beans in it!
Flor de Mayo Beans
- these Flor de Mayo beans look similar to pinto beans; sometimes they are called ‘romano beans’ or ‘cherry beans’. They are cooked until soft.
las frijoles para la sopa Tarasca
- 8 or 9 Guajillo chiles are cooked in boiling water for ten minutes, and then their stems and seeds are removed
soaked Guajillo chiles for the sopa Tarasca
- the chiles are blended with a cup of crushed tomatoes, 2 cloves of mashed garlic and 1/4 chopped onion
blending the Guajillo chiles, onion, garlic and tomatoes
adding the blended chile/tomato mix to the pureed beans for the Sopa Tarasca
slicing tortillas into fine strips for the sopa Tarasca.
‘deep-frying’ the tortilla strips
deep-fried tortilla strips being drained on paper towel
- Here’s an easy way to slice up an avocado
one way to slice up an avocado
all the fixings for the sopa Tarasca: cheese, cream, julienned deep-fried tortillas, crumbled pasilla chiles and cubed avocado
¡por fin! la sopa Tarasca
typical Patzcuaro wall with door & shuttered windows