🇲🇽 Mexico · Yucatán
Sopa de limaYucatán lime soup
A Yucatecan soup of chicken or turkey broth soured with the local lima agria, with shredded poultry and a heap of fried tortilla strips.
Origin and history
Sopa de lima is a soup of Yucatán built on poultry broth and the local sour lime. Its origin is disputed: one account credits a 1946 creation by a Mérida restaurateur, another points to the haciendas where limes grew in abundance, so no date or inventor can be stated as fact.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Total time
- 1 h 15 min
- Hands-on
- 40 min
Ingredients
- 1.8 l7 1/2 cups chicken stock, clear, well flavoured, degreased
- 2 chicken breasts, bone-in, poached in the stock, then shredded
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 white onion, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, roasted in a dry pan, peeled and minced
- 1 sweet green pepper, cut in thin strips
- 3 ripe tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- 3 limas agrias (Yucatecan sour limes), one sliced in rounds, the rest juiced; see notes for a substitute
- 8 corn tortillas, cut in thin strips and fried until crisp
- oil for frying, about 250 ml (1 cup)
- habanero chile, chopped onion and cilantro, to serve, optional
Method
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1. Simmer the chicken breasts in the stock for about 25 minutes until cooked through. Lift them out, cool, discard skin and bones and shred the meat. Keep the stock hot.
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2. Heat the oil in a pot and cook the onion, garlic and sweet pepper over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes until soft and translucent, without browning.
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3. Add the tomatoes and oregano and cook 5 minutes, then pour in the hot stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
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4. Meanwhile, fry the tortilla strips in hot oil, in batches, until golden and crisp. Drain on paper towels and salt lightly.
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5. Just before serving, add the lime juice and the lime rounds to the soup and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes only, then remove the rounds so the soup does not turn bitter.
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6. Divide the shredded chicken among bowls, ladle the hot soup over it and top with a large handful of tortilla strips.
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7. Serve with habanero, onion and extra lime at the table.
Notes
- Lima agria (Yucatecan sour lime) has a distinct aroma and a mild bitterness that is hard to match. If you cannot find it, use a mix of two-thirds regular lime juice and one-third sour (Seville) orange juice, or lime and grapefruit; the flavour will be brighter and less floral.
- Add the lime at the end and take the slices out within minutes, or the peel makes the soup bitter.
- Turkey breast is the traditional choice in Yucatán and chicken a close substitute. Some cooks add the Yucatecan salpimentado spice paste (black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, oregano, roasted garlic and onion), and some older recipes add a splash of vinegar; a version of the soup adds cumin, cloves and bay to the broth.
- Habanero is a typical accompaniment, served on the side or chopped into the sofrito; add it to your own heat level.
- Make the stock a day ahead; fry the tortillas fresh. Many cooks serve the lime slices and let each person squeeze juice into the bowl.
Adapted from Yucatan Living, The many faces of sopa de lima, Excélsior, Auténtica sopa de lima yucateca, and Grupo Animal, Sopa de lima yucateca.
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