Caldo tlalpeño

This is a "caldo tlalpeño" so named for the city of its origin, Tlalpan, now a zona in the southern region of Mexico city. Its most notable features are the use of a piquant chipotle broth, and melted cheese. It would typically eat as a meal, but can be served with heated tortillas, quesadillas or even warm bread.

To make this soup, you begin with a large (Large!) pot of broth: I always use boneless chicken breast (but for a richer broth you can use bone-in... involves more work than I am willing to do). Several (free-range, organic, local is best) breasts, salt, onion, garlic, even some celery if you want... you will discard these vegetables after you strain the broth. Set boiled chicken aside to cool, and then separate with a fork into bite size shreds to be reintegrated later.

In a stock pot: add chopped large onion, 2-3 garlic cloves, 1-2 tomatoes (Mexicans never bother to seed and blanch, but if you feel so inclined, you can... also, you could add a little tomato paste to brighten the tomato flavor), add 4-5 chipotles (plus sauce when using canned chipotles), sautee until this mixture becomes mushy. You can puree if you feel so inclined... I don't often, something about the joy of getting a whole mouthful of pepper is part of the excitement of this dish. Add your strained broth back in to this mixture and begin to simmer.

Add: 1-2 cans (depending on how much broth) cooked garbanzo beans, wash before adding, and rub between your hands to remove the majority of the skins. I always cook my garbanzos myself in a pressure cooker, but more for economic (and health!) reasons than taste. If you choose this route, they should already be cooked before you start.

I also like to add some rice. Lesson learned from last night: adding uncooked rice can make for a surprising amount of cooked rice in the final soup... best to pre-steam some rice and add it towards the end, or use a cautious amount, so it won't suck up too much liquid. Of course, you can always add extra broth etc... but... let's try and "fix" the problem before it arises.

Optional vegetables: Mexicans often add carrot, zucchini to their broths (caldo). Other common additions are diced potato or chayote (Mexican pear squash) or green beans. I used red cabbage instead last night and it was delicious. Feel free to experiment, making sure that the vegetables won't have a jarring flavor combination. For example: cauliflower would be ok, broccoli, definitely not. Adding vegetables to soups has always been a way for me to trick I. into eating them, when she was younger and didn't like them on their own. It has become habit to "improve" on the quality of soups this way, but don't over-do it, this soup is delicious in its simplicity. All vegetables should be chopped into small pieces, and the broth should be the salient feature, hence its name.

Add shredded chicken and optional veggies back into the simmering broth. Adjust salt, and add an extra chipotle if you feel it needs a bit more kick : )

Give it about 15 minutes for the flavors to marry and then you are ready to serve.

Garnishing:

Cheese: queso oaxaca, or mozzarella di bufala (or fresh cow's mozzarella too) would work best, last choice would be the American variety sold for use on pizza. Second best, muenster or sharp cheddar . You are looking for a high fat content to add to the chewiness. The cheese shouldn't be the type to disintegrate or make the soup creamy, but it should become stretchy and not just be a hard lump. Cut the cheese into little cubes, or hebras (strings) they should be spread out in the bowl to maximize pleasure.

Note on authenticity: This soup really NEEDS the cheese and should not really be considered "optional" if your guests are not allergic. You might consider adding this to the bottom of the bowl before serving, so that it will have some time to get melty and gooey before their first wonderful mouthful.

In bowls to be added at will by others:

Quartered limes: in Mexico most broths are not considered worthy until a squeeze of limón has been added.

Chopped scallion or onion: if using scallion, you can use some of the green part too.
Sliced radish: both these and the onion are typical garnishes on pozole. (I don't usually use them for my caldo tlalpeño, but I can see the value in using them for some, and many cook books claim they are essential.)

VERY necessary (in my book): sliced avocado, it really adds to the richness of the soup.

Y ya está. Guaranteed to clear your sinuses and warm your mucous membranes, if not your heart... and I have it on good authority that the chipotle doubles as an aphrodisiac :)