Sopa de Chepil con Chochoyotes

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 4-quart pot or Oaxacan clay olla
• •Mixing bowl for the masa
• •Sharp knife for cutting corn into rounds
• •Deep ladle for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the chochoyote masa

   In a bowl, combine the fresh masa with the two tablespoons of room-temperature lard and a half teaspoon of salt. Work it with your hands until the lard is fully incorporated and the dough is smooth, pliable, and slightly sticky. It should feel like soft clay, not wet and not crumbly. If you are using masa harina, mix it with the warm water first andlet it hydrate for five minutes before adding the lard. The lard is what gives the chochoyotes their tender texture in the broth. Without it, you get a dense corn pellet. La manteca es el sabor.

   Fresh masa from a tortilleria is always better than masa harina for chochoyotes. The texture is softer and the corn flavor is rounder. If you have a Mexican market nearby that sells fresh masa, use it.
2. 2

   Shape the chochoyotes

   Pinch off pieces of dough about the size of a large marble, roughly a tablespoon each. Roll each one into a smooth ball between your palms. Then press your thumb firmly into the center to create a deep dimple, about halfway through the ball. Do not flatten it. You want a cup shape with thick walls. The dimple is not decoration. It lets the hot broth reach the center of the dumpling so it cooks through evenly. You should get about 18 to 20 chochoyotes. Set them on a plate as you go.

   If the masa cracks when you press the dimple, it is too dry. Wet your hands with a little water and work the dough again. If it sticks to everything, it is too wet. Add a pinch of masa harina.
3. 3

   Build the broth base

   In a heavy pot or clay olla, melt the remaining tablespoon of lard over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic cloves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and turns translucent, about four minutes. Do not brown them. This is a delicate soup and burned onion will overpower the chepil. Pour in the chicken broth and bring it to a steady simmer. Taste for salt now. The broth needs to be well-seasoned before the dumplings go in because the masa will absorb flavor as it cooks.

4. 4

   Cook the corn and chochoyotes

   Add the corn rounds to the simmering broth. Let them cook for five minutes to start softening. Then lower the chochoyotes in one at a time, spacing them so they do not stick together. Do not stir for the first three minutes or they will break apart before the outside sets. Once the surface of the dumplings firms up, you can stir gently. Simmer for 15 minutes total. The chochoyotes are done when they float and feel firm but not hard when you press one with a spoon.

5. 5

   Add the chepil

   Add the chepil leaves to the pot in the final three minutes of cooking. That is all they need. The leaves are tender and wilt almost immediately. If you cook them too long, they turn army green and lose the bright herbal flavor that makes this soup worth making. Push them gently under the surface with a spoon and let the broth do the rest. The soup should smell green and mineral, unmistakably Oaxacan.

6. 6

   Serve immediately

   Ladle the soup into deep bowls, making sure each serving gets three or four chochoyotes, a piece or two of corn, and a generous portion of chepil leaves in broth. Squeeze lime at the table. That is it. No garnish pile, no crema, no cheese. The broth, the herb, and the masa are the whole point. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •If you live outside Mexico and cannot find fresh chepil, dried chepil is sometimes available at Oaxacan specialty stores online. Use about a third of the amount and add it a minute or two earlier than fresh. It is a compromise, not a replacement, and the flavor will be quieter. Do not substitute epazote. Epazote is a completely different herb with a different flavor. They are not interchangeable. If you cannot find chepil at all, this is not the soup to make today. Cook something else and wait until you can source it.
• •The chicken broth matters more here than in almost any other soup because there is nowhere for weak broth to hide. Use homemade. Simmer a whole chicken with onion, garlic, and salt for an hour and a half. You get the broth and the shredded chicken for tacos tomorrow. Two meals from one pot.
• •Chochoyotes can be shaped up to two hours ahead and held on a plate covered with a damp towel. Do not refrigerate them or the surface dries and cracks. They go into the broth at room temperature.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicken broth can and should be made a day ahead. Refrigerate it overnight and skim the solidified fat before reheating. That fat, by the way, can replace the lard in the broth base if you want to keep everything from one source.
• •This soup does not hold well. The chochoyotes absorb broth as they sit and the chepil loses its brightness. Make it, serve it, eat it. Leftovers are acceptable the next day reheated, but the soup is best within the hour it is finished.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 350g)