Crema de Chepil de Teotitlán del Valle

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy clay olla or thick-bottomed 4-quart pot
• •Wooden spoon for stirring the masa
• •Large basin for washing the chepil
• •Ladle

Instructions

1. 1

   Wash and strip the chepil

   Fill a large basin with cold water. Submerge the chepil bunches and agitate them gently to release any sand or grit. Chepil grows low in the milpa and carries dirt. Lift the leaves out, let the water drain, and repeat until the water runs clean. Strip the leaves from the thick woody stems. The thin tender stems near the tips can stay. The thick stems are fibrous and have no place in the soup. Set aside a small handful of whole leaves for finishing.

   If you are buying chepil from a Mexican grocery or a mercado vendor, smell it before you buy it. Fresh chepil has a green, slightly mineral scent. If it smells sour or looks yellowed at the edges, it is past its day and the flavor will be flat.
2. 2

   Cook the aromatics in lard

   Melt the manteca de cerdo in a heavy clay olla or a thick-bottomed pot over medium heat. When the lard shimmers, add the chopped onion and garlic. Cook for three to four minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant but not browned. Browned garlic turns bitter in a delicate soup like this. You want it soft and sweet.

3. 3

   Wilt the chepil

   Add the cleaned chepil leaves to the pot in two or three handfuls, letting each batch wilt down before adding the next. Stir them through the lard and onion. The leaves will collapse quickly, losing about three quarters of their volume, and the kitchen will fill with an earthy, herbaceous smell. Cook for two minutes once all the leaves are in, just enough to soften them and release their flavor into the fat. La manteca es el sabor. It carries the chepil through the whole soup.

4. 4

   Add the broth and corn

   Pour in the chicken broth. If you are using fresh corn kernels, add them now. Bring the pot to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then reduce the heat to low and let it cook for ten minutes. The corn should be just tender and the broth should taste clearly of chepil. Taste it. If the herb flavor is faint, you needed more chepil. Write that down for next time.

5. 5

   Thicken with masa

   If using fresh masa, pinch it into small pieces and dissolve them in one cup of warm water, working it with your fingers until smooth and milky. If using masa harina, whisk it into half a cup of warm water until lump-free. Pour the masa mixture into the simmering soup in a slow stream, stirring constantly. The broth will cloud and thicken within two or three minutes into something that coats the back of a wooden spoon. This is the body of the soup. Not cream. Not flour. Masa. That is how it is done in the Valles Centrales. Asi se hace y punto.

   Stir constantly when you add the masa. If it goes in too fast or the broth is boiling too hard, you will get lumps. A gentle simmer and a steady stream are what you need. If lumps form anyway, pour the soup through a strainer and press them through. Do not serve lumpy crema de chepil.
6. 6

   Simmer and season

   Let the soup cook for another eight to ten minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the masa flavor is cooked out and the texture is velvety. A raw masa taste means it needs more time. Season with salt now. Go slowly. The broth and the quesillo both carry salt, and you can always add more at the table. The soup should taste of chepil first, corn second, and the lard should be a quiet warmth underneath everything.

7. 7

   Finish and serve

   Ladle the hot soup into clay bowls. Drop a generous tangle of quesillo strips into each bowl, pushing them just below the surface so the heat softens them into stretchy, melting threads. Drizzle a spoonful of crema mexicana across the top. Scatter a few reserved whole chepil leaves over the crema. Serve immediately with warm corn tortillas on the side. The quesillo should stretch when you lift the spoon. The crema should swirl into the green-flecked broth. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Chepil is seasonal. In Mexico, it appears in the markets from June through October during the rains. In the United States, look for it at Mexican groceries that serve Oaxacan and Chiapanecan communities, particularly in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. If your market does not carry it, ask. Demand creates supply. There is no real substitute for chepil. Spinach is too sweet, arugula is too peppery, and epazote is an entirely different herb. If you cannot find chepil, make a different soup. Do not force a substitution onto the wrong dish.
• •Use fresh masa from a tortilleria if you have one nearby. The texture it gives the soup is smoother and rounder than masa harina. Masa harina works, but it is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •The quesillo must be real Oaxacan quesillo, the string cheese that pulls apart in long threads. Mozzarella is similar in texture but the flavor is wrong. If you find quesillo at a Mexican market, buy extra and keep it wrapped tightly in the refrigerator. It dries out fast.
• •Do not boil the soup once the masa is in. A hard boil breaks the emulsion and the texture goes grainy. Keep it at a lazy simmer, barely moving.

Advance Preparation

• •The soup base through step 6 can be made up to one day ahead and refrigerated. It will thicken as it cools. Reheat gently over low heat, adding a splash of broth to loosen it back to the right consistency. Add the quesillo and crema only at serving time.
• •Fresh chepil leaves can be washed, stripped, and stored wrapped in a damp cloth inside a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to two days. Past that, they yellow and lose their flavor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 380g)