Caldo Tlalpeño

Serves 4

One of Mexico City's municipalities is called Tlalpan.  I was not born in Tlalpan, but my parents moved there when I was about 6 years old, and that's where I grew up.  In the early 1900's Tlalpan was a little town outside the city, and people who travelled there for business started talking about this very special soup a lady called Pachita was cooking there.  This soup was actually just a simple chicken broth with vegetables, but there was something about it that made it unique.  Her caldo from Tlalpan became a legend.

What you will need:

Chicken breasts                                   4

Baby morrows                                     4, sliced

Peas                                                          1 cup

Carrots                                                      2, sliced

Green beans                                         around 20, cut into pieces

Potatoes                                                 2, diced

Avo                                                           1, diced

White cheese                                       around 100 gr. diced

Rice                                                          ½ cup

Onion                                                       ¼

Tomato                                                    2

Garlic                                                        2 cloves

Chipotle Chile                                        2 (Chipotle is a jalapeño that has been allowed to dry on the vine,  and is then smoked.  It's usually sold in tins.  Some supermarkets in Johannesburg cater for ex-pat communities, and they sometimes stock it.  If you can't find it, you can substitute it with a few drops of Tabasco Chipotle, which is becoming available at almost any big supermarket.)

Bay leaf                                               1

Marjoram                                            1 pinch

Coriander                                            2 branches

Lemons                                               2 cut in thick wedges to squeeze

In about 1 ½ litres of water boil the chicken and the potatoes with the salt, garlic, bay leaf, marjoram and coriander until the chicken is cooked.  Shred the chicken and add it back to the broth.  Bring it back to the boil and then add the rest of the vegetables.  Let it simmer   for about 20 minutes.

In the blender put the tomato, garlic, onion and salt liquefy entirely.  In a shallow pan fry the rice, in about one tablespoon of oil.  Once the rice is transparent, add the tomato paste and wait until it turns its colour to orange and you can see the bottom of the pot.  Add 3 cups of water and as usual don’t stir it just check the liquid occasionally and add more if its not entirely cooked.

Once the chicken broth is ready add half of the cooked rice and some of the Chipotle.  At the table have the cheese, lemons, chipotles and avo. Your guests can dish for themselves the quantity they want.

And… that’s it. ¡Buen Provecho!

LOLA