Caldo de Guías

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large clay olla or heavy 6-quart pot
• •Dry comal or cast iron skillet for toasting chiles and charring aromatics
• •Blender
• •Wooden spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the guías

   This is the step that takes patience and cannot be skipped. Hold each squash vine by the tip and pull the tough outer string that runs along its length. It peels away like a celery string. If the vine is young and tender, the string comes off easily. If it resists, the vine is too old and will be fibrous in the pot. Strip every piece. Cut the peeled vines into 3-inch lengths, keeping any small tender leaves and curling tendrils attached. Rinse everything in cold water. The senoras at the Mercado de Abastos in Oaxaca do this while talking and make it look like nothing. It takes a first-timer about twenty minutes for a full bundle. That is fine.

   If a vine does not peel cleanly or feels woody when you bend it, discard that piece. One fibrous vine will ruin a spoonful of otherwise tender caldo.
2. 2

   Toast the chiles and build the base

   Heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium. Toast the chile pasilla oaxaqueno for about 20 seconds per side, pressing gently with a spatula. The skin will blister and the kitchen will fill with a sharp, smoky perfume. That smokiness is what makes this a pasilla oaxaqueno and not any other dried chile. Remove and tear into pieces. In the same dry comal, char the onion quarters and garlic cloves until blackened on the cut sides, about 4 to 5 minutes. The char is not a mistake. It is the flavor base of half the caldos in the Valles Centrales.

3. 3

   Blend the chile base

   Place the toasted chile pieces in a blender with the charred onion, charred garlic, and one cup of water. Blend until smooth. Do not strain. The pasilla oaxaqueno has thin enough skin that it integrates fully. You want every bit of that smokiness in the pot.

4. 4

   Start the caldo

   In a large clay olla or a heavy 6-quart pot, heat the 2 tablespoons of manteca de cerdo over medium. When the lard shimmers, pour in the chile base. It will sputter. Stir and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the color deepens and the raw edge cooks off. Add the remaining 9 cups of water and the tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer.

5. 5

   Make the chochoyotes

   While the broth comes to a simmer, combine the fresh masa, the 3 tablespoons of lard, and the half teaspoon of salt in a bowl. Work it with your hands until the lard is fully incorporated and the masa is smooth, pliable, and does not crack at the edges. Pinch off walnut-sized pieces and roll each into a ball. Press your thumb into the center to make a deep dimple. That dimple is not decoration. It ensures the center cooks at the same rate as the outside. You should get about 16 to 18 chochoyotes.

   If the masa cracks when you press it, it is too dry. Work in a teaspoon of water at a time until it holds together smoothly. If it sticks to your hands, it is too wet. Add a pinch of dry masa harina. The texture should feel like soft clay, not wet dough.
6. 6

   Cook the corn and chochoyotes

   Drop the corn rounds into the simmering broth first. They take the longest. After 5 minutes, add the chochoyotes one at a time. They will sink to the bottom and then float to the surface after 8 to 10 minutes. That float tells you the masa is cooked through. Do not stir aggressively or the dumplings will break apart. A gentle push with a wooden spoon is enough to keep things from sticking.

7. 7

   Add the squash and guías

   Once the chochoyotes are floating, add the calabacitas and the cleaned guias. The squash will need about 8 minutes to become tender but still hold its shape. The guias cook faster, about 5 minutes. They are done when they yield to a fork but do not dissolve. This is a soup of distinct textures, not a puree.

8. 8

   Finish with the herbs and blossoms

   Add the torn hierba santa leaves, the chepil, and the squash blossoms in the last 2 to 3 minutes of cooking. The hierba santa gives a deep anise-like perfume that is nothing like epazote, nothing like fennel, nothing like anything else. Do not confuse the two. The chepil adds a grassy, mineral note that is specific to Oaxaca and irreplaceable. The squash blossoms wilt into golden ribbons in the broth. Taste for salt. The broth should be light but assertive, more consomme than stew. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

   Hierba santa is not epazote. They are different plants with different flavors from different families. Do not substitute one for the other. If you cannot find hierba santa, leave it out. A gap is more honest than a wrong note.
9. 9

   Serve in deep bowls

   Ladle the caldo into deep bowls, making sure each person gets corn, chochoyotes, guias, calabacitas, and squash blossoms. The broth should be thin and aromatic, not thick. Serve with warm corn tortillas and lime wedges at the table. This is a complete meal from the milpa, everything in the bowl grew together in the same field. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •Guias de calabaza are seasonal. In Oaxaca, they appear at the mercados from June through October during the rains. Outside Mexico, look for them at farmers markets that grow Mexican squash varieties, or at well-stocked Latin markets during summer months. If you grow any variety of Cucurbita moschata or Cucurbita argyrosperma in your garden, you have guias growing on the vine right now. Clip the tender growing tips.
• •The masa for chochoyotes must be fresh nixtamalized masa, not reconstituted masa harina. Masa harina chochoyotes dissolve in the broth and turn it cloudy. Fresh masa holds its shape and gives the dumplings a tender, slightly chewy center that is the whole point. If you are outside Mexico, find a tortilleria that sells fresh masa by the kilo.
• •Chile pasilla oaxaqueno is a smoked chile specific to Oaxaca. It is not the same as the chile pasilla (also called chile negro) sold in the rest of Mexico. The Oaxacan version is smoke-dried, not air-dried, and it gives this caldo its distinctive smoky backbone. If you cannot find it, a small amount of chile chipotle morita is a distant compromise, not a true substitute. You will taste the difference. Preguntale a las senoras del mercado.
• •Do not add the herbs and squash blossoms early. They cook in minutes and turn bitter or mushy if they sit in the broth too long. Hierba santa goes limp fast. Chepil darkens. The blossoms dissolve. Add them at the end, serve within ten minutes.

Advance Preparation

• •The chile base (toasted pasilla oaxaqueno blended with charred onion and garlic) can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. This saves time on the day of cooking.
• •The chochoyotes can be shaped up to 4 hours ahead and held on a lightly floured tray, covered, in the refrigerator. Do not freeze them. Frozen chochoyotes crack and crumble in the broth.
• •This caldo does not improve with time the way a mole or pozole does. The guias and squash blossoms lose their texture overnight. Make it and eat it the same day. Leftovers will still taste good reheated, but the delicacy of the vegetables will be gone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 500g)