The day after Thanksgiving, the last thing I'll want to do is to spend the day in the kitchen. But if I was in possession of a turkey carcass, I would make a rich turkey stock the effortless way--by roasting it in the oven all day while I am out playing--and cook up a pot of Sopa de Lima a few days later.
Sopa de Lima--the official soup of the Yucatan--is the perfect meal to follow Thanksgiving gluttony. It's simple and healthy, hearty and spicy, and makes good use of leftover turkey and stock.
Sopa de Lima--the official soup of the Yucatan--is the perfect meal to follow Thanksgiving gluttony. It's simple and healthy, hearty and spicy, and makes good use of leftover turkey and stock.
My kids have been begging me to make the Sopa de Lima they remember from our vacation in Campeche a few years ago. Sopa de Lima is the Yucatan's version of tortilla soup, served with avocado, fried strips of tortilla, diced serrano chilis, sliced radishes and a crumbly, salty fresh cheese. And limas, a sour lime that is is ubiquitous in the Yucatan, but almost unheard of farther north.
The antidote to too much Thanksgiving feasting.
To get that sour citrus flavor of the lima into my soup, I used an ordinary Persian lime and half of a ruby red grapefruit. Another reason I love this soup so much....there's a big dose of vitamin C in each bowl.
A few of the friendly faces we saw in Campeche.
If you go to Campeche, you'll notice that the Yucatan is not like the rest of Mexico: They favor baseball over soccer, and mayonnaise over salsa. They eat turkey, not chicken, and the most popular seafood dish is a layered casserole of tortillas and shredded baby shark--cazón--which they pull from the ocean in shockingly huge numbers. The food reflects their Spanish and Mayan heritage and the seaside abundance.
Fresh corn ice cream sold on the steaming hot sidewalks of Campeche.
But our best food memory of the Yucatan is the Sopa de Lima, eaten outside in the stifling heat, with a lid of freshly fried tortillas. For dessert, elote--creamy corn ice cream--from a local stand tops off the meal.
Can you tell that I am dreaming of spring break already?
To make a no-fuss turkey stock in the oven, place your turkey carcass (and the drumsticks if you still have them) into the biggest pot that will fit into your oven. Break it into pieces if it is very large. It is good if the carcass still has some meat clinging to the bones. Place uncovered in the 200ºF oven. Roast in the oven for at least 4 and up to 12 hours. Head out for the day...return to a most enticing aroma. You could even make this stock overnight.
Put the pot on the stove, and add 1 large quartered onion, 2 peeled and roughly chopped carrots, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon of black peppercorns, and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. Bring to just below a boil, and then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cook stovetop for another hour, or return the pan to the oven.
Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer or a cheesecloth. Taste, and add Kosher salt to your liking. Store in the refrigerator for 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months. Skim off any congealed fat, and cook up steaming bowls of Sopa de Lima to take the edge off the gray sleeting November skies.
Put the pot on the stove, and add 1 large quartered onion, 2 peeled and roughly chopped carrots, 2 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon of black peppercorns, and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. Bring to just below a boil, and then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cook stovetop for another hour, or return the pan to the oven.
Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer or a cheesecloth. Taste, and add Kosher salt to your liking. Store in the refrigerator for 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months. Skim off any congealed fat, and cook up steaming bowls of Sopa de Lima to take the edge off the gray sleeting November skies.
Queso cotija is a locally available soft Mexican cheese.
For a printable version of the recipe, click on the file below it.
Sopa de Lima (Turkey Tortilla Soup)
Have everything ready when you start to fry the tortilla strips. The soup is best when the just-fried tortillas hit the broth with a sizzle.
Serves 4
Serves 4
For the soup:
- 2 cups shredded leftover turkey
- 4 cups turkey stock
- 1/2 grapefruit
- 1 lime, cut in half
- 1/3 white onion, finely chopped
- 1 serrano chili, seeded and deveined, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons canola
- 2 tablespoons canola or peanut oil (for frying)
For the toppings:
- 4-5 radishes, sliced paper thin
- 1-2 serrano chilis, seeded and deveined, finely diced
- 4 tablespoons crumbled fresh Mexican cheese, such as Queso cotija
- 4 limes, sliced into quarters
- 4 corn tortillas (stale is good) cut into strips
- 2 avocados, sliced
- In a medium saucepan, heat the oil until sizzling, and add the white onion and chopped serrano chili. Sauté until the onion is just turning brown, about 4-5 minutes.
- Squeeze juice from the lime and grapefruit into the pot, and then throw in the rest of the fruit.
- Slowly add the turkey stock and heat to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare all the toppings, and have them ready.
- Discard the lime and grapefruit from the pot, and add the shredded turkey. Keep over low heat while you prepare the tortillas.
- In a large frying pan, heat the peanut oil until it sizzles when a tortilla strip is placed into it. Fry the tortilla strips until golden, and set aside on paper towels to drain.
- Fill warm bowls with the turkey and broth. Serve with toppings on the side.
| sopa_de_lima.docx |
If you go to the Yucatan, be sure to climb some pyramids!
