Sopa Azteca is a staple of Mexican culture and cuisine with as many variations as cooks. It's simple to make, and a joy to eat.
Hints of onion, garlic, and chilies rise to your nose as your eye catches glimpses of avocado and fried tortillas floating in a bowl of tomato-based broth. When it's good, tortilla soup can be mind blowing; when it's just average, it's still one of the best Mexican soups around.
Like so many other dishes in Mexico, sopa Azteca has as many variations as there are cooks making it. As a general rule, though, the soup begins with a chicken broth base, to which roasted tomatoes and toasted chilies are added.
Sopa Azteca Varies By Region
The regional-and sometimes neighborhood-variations usually lie in the type, number, and spiciness of the chilies used. In Guanajuato, in northern central Mexico, the chilies used are guajillo, known as one of Mexico's most versatile chilies. These give the soup a wonderful flavor, with just a hint of lingering burn that quickly passes from your palate. In Oaxaca, on the edge of the Isthmus of Tehuenhtepec in southern Mexico, it's a toss up between the common pasilla chili and the more zesty and smoky chipotle. Both of these give the soup a more powerful bite and a longer linger on the tongue.
The soup gets its name from the thin strips of fried tortillas strips that are added just before it's served. Traditionally, soups in Mexico have been used by the masses as a way to stretch an ingredient-whether it's meat or a vegetable- as far as possible. Sopa Azteca, it is believed, was created at least partially as a way to use up leftover, stale tortillas. After making the broth base, serving bowls are assembled with a good size handful of fried tortilla strips, diced avocado, shredded chicken, and more chilies as desired. Once the broth has been ladled over, the soup is then topped with queso añejo (a aged, dried cheese similar to parmesan) and a drizzle of fresh cream.
The soup, however, is so much more than just an easy way to use up leftovers; it's a standard dish served daily throughout Mexico. Either as a soup course, or as a main dish, variations of tortilla soup can be found from simple street side stands to gourmet restaurants. Whether you enjoy it on its own or as part of a larger meal, tortilla soup is a satisfying blend of Mexican staples that's a joy to eat.
