Sopa de Fideo

Tomato noodle soup is the kind of simple comfort food that all little kids love. In fact, I ate it every week growing up, and I still look to it when I want something that’s easy on the stomach. The soup is usually made with chicken stock, but I use vegetable broth instead. I may be the only person to add crema to the dish. It’s not traditional at all, but I love the creaminess. It gives the soup a richness that reminds me of curry

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons avocado oil

  Provecho: 100 Vegan Mexican Recipes to Celebrate Culture and Community Edgar Castrejón

• 7 ounces fideo (thin pasta)

• 2 large Roma tomatoes

• 1⁄4 white or yellow onion, roughly chopped

• 1 garlic clove

• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons fine sea salt

• 4 cups vegetable broth

• 2 cups water

• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1⁄4 by 1-inch strips

• Fermented Vegan Crema (see below) for dolloping

• Cilantro leaves for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS 

Warm a large pot over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the avocado oil and fideo. Turn the heat to medium-low and toast the fideo, stirring often, until the pasta is golden brown, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a high-powered blender, combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, salt, and 1 cup of the vegetable broth and blend until smooth. Pour into the pot with the fideo, add the water and remaining 3 cups vegetable broth, and set over medium heat. Cover partially and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the carrots and simmer, partially covered, until they’re tender, about 15 minutes.

Serve the sopa dolloped with vegan crema and garnished with cilantro, if desired.

Fermented Vegan Crema

MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS

• 1 1⁄2 cups raw cashew pieces, soaked in water to cover overnight (or boiled for 15 minutes)

• 1 cup water

• 2 tablespoons plain vegan yogurt

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 1⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Drain the cashews and rinse with cold, fresh water.

In a high-powered blender, combine the cashews, 1 cup water, yogurt, lemon juice, and salt and blend on the high­est setting until completely emulsified and smooth, with no grains of the nuts remaining, about 1 minute.

Transfer to a glass container, cover partially, and let sit near your oven all day. (At least 8 hours. It’s best to do this on a day when you’re already baking or cooking on the stove, as the ambient heat will help the crema ferment. If you aren’t cooking that day, the top of the fridge is a place that sometimes gener­ates low-level ambient heat. But make sure to push the container away from the door so you don’t accidentally drop it when you open the fridge!) The crema is ready when thickened and fluffed up to about 25 percent more than the original volume.

Store the crema in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Reprinted with permission from Provecho: 100 Vegan Mexican Recipes to Celebrate Culture and Community by Edgar Castrejón, copyright © 2021. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Food photographs copyright © 2021 by Edgar Castrejón

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