Sopa Tarasca, Michoacan Bean and Ancho Soup
Sopa tarasca comes from Michoacan, named for the Purepecha people the Spanish called Tarascos, and in its purest form it is a smooth soup of pureed beans and tomato scented with dried chiles. The silkiness is the signature: pinto beans blended right into the base give it a velvet body that needs neither cream nor cheese, though a restaurant will crown it with both plus fried tortilla strips. Ancho and pasilla, the dried forms of poblano and chilaca, carry a dark, raisin-and-cocoa depth, and epazote lends the herbal note that so often rides alongside Mexican beans. The garnish does the rest of the work: diced avocado for richness, crisp toasted pasilla for crunch, and a squeeze of lime to lift the whole bowl.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Pinto beans, cooked, divided (or 2 cans, drained)
- 1 1/2 cups Canned crushed tomatoes
- 2 wholes Ancho, stemmed and seeded
- 2 wholes Pasilla, stemmed and seeded, 1 for the soup and 1 for garnish
- 1 whole Yellow onions, quartered
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 tsp Cumin seed, toasted and ground
- 2 sprigs Epazote
- 1 tbsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
- 1 whole Avocado, diced, to serve
- 1 whole Limes, cut into wedges
Method
- Toast the ancho and one pasilla in a dry pan over medium heat, pressing them flat for a few seconds a side until they smell toasty and turn pliable. Do not let them scorch, or they turn bitter. Cover them with just-boiled water and soak 15 minutes until soft.
- In the same dry pan, char the quartered onion and whole garlic cloves, turning, until they blacken in spots, about 8 minutes. Charring the aromatics dry is where a deep, roasted flavor comes from in place of the oil the pan never gets.
- Blend the soaked chiles with the charred onion and garlic, the crushed tomatoes, cumin, and a cup of the chile soaking water until completely smooth. Blend in 2 cups of the pinto beans as well; the pureed beans are what make this soup silky and thick, its defining texture, with no cream at all.
- Pour the puree into a pot through a sieve if you want it very smooth, add the bouillon, the epazote, and the remaining whole beans, then thin with 2 to 3 cups (470 to 710 ml) water to a pourable soup. Simmer 15 minutes so the flavors marry and the raw edge cooks off the chiles.
- While it simmers, tear the reserved pasilla into strips and toast them dry until crisp, about 1 minute. These crumbled crisp chiles are the classic garnish, standing in for the fried tortilla strips a restaurant piles on.
- Fish out the epazote. Ladle into bowls and top with diced avocado, the crumbled toasted pasilla, and a wedge of lime. The avocado gives the richness the usual crema and cheese would, and the lime cuts through it.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 230 calories, 11 g protein, 11 g fiber, 60 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
