Mexican Comfort Food

I discovered this dish on foodnetwork.com a couple of years ago and it has stuck in the repertoire ever since. It’s sort of like a Mexican lasagna, with a great smokey spice from the chipotle. This recipe is easy enough to put together for a midweek dinner, and the leftovers make an equally good lunch. The only trick is finding the fideos (little pasta nests), but there are both Mexican, and Italian varieties out there.

Sopa Seco De Fideos (Dry Noodle Soup)

• 12 ounces fideos
• 1.5 cups (12 oz.) crushed tomatoes
• 1.5 cups (12 oz.) vegetable stock
• 4 oz. grated cheese (cotija, jack, cheddar or other)
• 1 minced onion
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 2 chipotles in adobo sauce (more or less according to your taste)

• 1 tsp oregano
• 
• 1 tsp ancho (or other) chili powder
• 1 bay leaf
• ground coriander
• vegetable or olive oil for the pan
• sour cream (optional)
• chives for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375. Heat oil in a large saute pan and brown each side of the fideos, takes 2-3 minutes. Then remove the fideos from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, saute the onions until they brown, then add the garlic and spices, cook for 30 seconds.

Add the tomatoes and chipotle peppers and turn the heat up a bit so the liquid is boiling and the sauce thickens a bit. Then add the vegetable stock, salt and pepper, and fideos. Allow this to come to a boil again, and simmer for 4-5 minutes, while breaking up the fideos with a wooden spoon.

Next, top the dish with the grated cheese, cover, and put it in the oven for 20 minutes. (If you don’t have an oven-proof saute pan, you can transfer the dish to a casserole dish before sprinkling on the cheese and putting it in the oven.) Serve with a dollup of sour cream, and garnish with chives. It has such a great smokey flavor from the chipotles. If you like pasta, cheese, and a little heat, you’ll love this one.

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