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White bowl with alphabet soup

Sopa de Letras (Classic Mexican Alphabet Soup)

Simple and flavorful, this classic Mexican soup called Sopa de Letras, combines fresh ingredients like tomatoes, onion, and garlic for an easy, comforting, family-friendly soup.

Course Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword Aplhabet Soup, Sopa de Letras
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4 - 5

Ingredients

For the Blender:

  • 3 Roma tomatoes halved
  • ½ white onion halved
  • ½ tbsp minced garlic or 2-3 cloves
  • ¼ tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup water

For the Pot:

  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 7 oz alphabet pasta
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 bay leaf
  • fresh lime juice optional

Instructions

  1. In a blender, add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, cumin, salt and one cup of water. Blend until smooth.

  2. Add olive oil to a medium-sized pot and heat over medium. Once warm, add the alphabet pasta and stir well, making sure it all gets coated with oil. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until pasta turns golden brown, stirring frequently to ensure the pasta doesn't burn.

  3. Carefully add the tomato mixture to the pot and stir. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until mixture starts to darken a bit.

  4. Add the broth, stir and turn the heat up. Bring to a boil.

  5. Once boiling, turn heat down to low, add one bay leaf and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste to make sure pasta is done and add more salt, if desired.

  6. Ladle into a bowl and enjoy as is, or add your favorite toppings like a squeeze of fresh lime juice, hot sauce, chopped cilantro, queso fresco or a drizzle of Mexican crema.

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