Tepoztlán-Style Bean Soup
Tepoztlán is a beautiful town near Mexico City where my family spent most of our weekends. This traditional favorite dish is surprisingly light because of its tomato base. Serve all the accompaniments separately for everybody to dress up to taste; you can also offer chorizo, cilantro, even feta would work nicely. I like to use pinto or bayo beans to get the full color effect thanks to the brick-red guajillo peppers. If you thin it with a little stock, this soup can be a great sauce for fish or chiles rellenos.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons light olive oil
- ½ white onion, roughly chopped
- 1 small clove garlic, crushed
- 2 guajillo or New Mexico dried chiles, seeds, veins and stems removed
- 4 large plum tomatoes, stem removed, cut into quarters
- 2 cups cooked pinto or bayo beans
- Salt
- Garnishes: Fried julienne tortillas, cubed avocado, fried guajillo chile rings, queso ranchero, crushed pork rinds, fried epazote, cream
Instructions
- In a large heavy-bottom pot, warm the oil, add the onion and garlic, sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the chiles and stir while cooking, taking care not to brown them.
- Mix in the tomatoes and salt; cook everything over medium-high heat while stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft.
- Pour in the cooked beans and sauté for another minute. Carefully purée mixture in a blender until smooth. Return to the pot and season to taste with salt. Adjust consistency, if necessary, with water or stock. Simmer for a few minutes and serve topped with any garnishes from list.