(c) Robin Grose
Robin: It might not “look Mexican” at first glance, but pasta made this way is one of millions of Mexicans’ favorite everyday dishes and beloved comfort foods—due, perhaps, to the fact that it is made with simple ingredients (tomato, onion, chicken broth) and brings back warm childhood memories of the dinner table. Like many other “dry soups” (more about that below), Mexican Spaghetti is a humble (and unexpectedly exquisite) food served in moderately-sized portions as either a first course or a side, but never as a meal’s main dish.
The name of this dish is sopa seca de fideos, meaning “dry pasta soup.” The use of the term sopa in Mexican Spanish is different from what most of the world considers soup. In central Mexico, sopa refers not so much to the type of dish as to a certain course of the main meal of the day, served mid-afternoon. Sopa is the course served immediately before the main dish; not an appetizer, per se, but a first course. It can be liquid, as we think of soup in English (vegetable, cream of vegetable, noodle soup such as sopa aguada, etc.), or it might be seasoned rice or a pasta dressed with a sauce (often tomato-y, sometimes creamy, occasionally something else). Very often there will be two sopas: the meal starts off with a liquid soup, followed by a dry soup such at the one produced by this recipe.
The type of pasta generally used for Mexican Spaghetti is the very thin fideo (vermicelli in Italian), but any small, fine pasta could be used. Despite the dish’s name, actual spaghetti itself is a little too thick for this. If you’d like to make your dish extra authentic, buy the dried pasta in cellophane bags sold in the Hispanic food aisle of the supermarket (La Moderna and Tres Estrellas are common brands).
Topping this with cheese and/or cream is delicious, but definitely optional. If you decide to, I recommend an authentic Mexican cheese variety such as Cotija (dry, strongly-flavored, similar to grated parmesan) or queso fresco (a crumbly white cheese). Italian parmesano-romano works well, too. Please avoid any cheese that is orange in color or any of the so-called “Mexican blends,” as these do not have the right flavor profile for Mexican Spaghetti.
Mexican Spaghetti (Sopa seca de fideos)
First course or side dish, one of Mexico’s most beloved authentic comfort foods.
Ingredients
- 2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes
- 1/3 of a smallish white onion
- 1 small clove fresh garlic or 1/2 teaspoon garlic paste
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or good quality pork lard
- 7 ounces (300 grams) small, thin pasta such as vermicelli
- 2 cups seasoned chicken broth homemade, from a box, or prepared with bouillon powder/cubes
- Cream, our cream, or crumbled cheese (optional) s
Instructions
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Cut the tomatoes into quarters. Place them, together with the onion and garlic into the blender and process, adding no extra liquid, until well blended. Set aside.
In a medium-sized saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the pasta (if it is long, break it gently with your fingers and stir gently so that all of it gets coated with oil. Let the pasta fry over medium heat, stirring continually or very frequently (it burns easily), for about 5 minutes, until most of the strands of pasta look toasted.
Take the fried pasta out of the pan and set aside. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan, let it get hot, then pour in the tomato mixture. Note that it might sputter and pop, so don't hold your face right over the pan while you are doing this. Let this mixture fry/boil, uncovered and stirring it occasionally, for 5 or 10 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated.
Once the tomato mixture has cooked down and is relatively thick, add the fried pasta and the chicken broth. Let it boil gently, uncovered, for about another 10 minutes, until the pasta is cooked and enough water has evaporated that you can eat it with a fork rather than with a spoon.
Serve your Mexican Spaghetti plain or topped with a spoonful of cream or grated cheese, if you like. If there are any leftovers, refrigerate them; they will keep well for several days. Add a little water to reheat pasta in the microwave or in a pan on the stove over low heat.
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