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Sopa de flor de calabaza
Squash blossom soup
Sopa de flor de calabaza: Mexico City's rainy-season squash-blossom soup with courgette and epazote
From July to September, when the summer rains fill Mexico City's markets with armfuls of orange squash blossoms, home cooks turn them into this light, golden soup. Half the blossoms are blended with onion into the base and the rest go in whole at the end, with diced courgette, sweetcorn and a sprig of epazote. The result is delicate and floral, a good first course before something rich. Serve with crumbled queso fresco; it is usually made with animal rennet, so look for a vegetarian one. Chef's tip: buy blossoms in the morning and use them the same day, as they wilt within hours.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the soup
- 20 squash blossomsabout 150 g
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 white onionfinely chopped
- 1 clove garlicchopped
- 5 cups vegetable stock
- 2 courgettesdiced
- 5 ½ oz sweetcorn kernels
- 2 sprigs fresh epazoteor 1 tsp dried
- 1 tsp salt
To serve
- 2 ⅛ oz vegetarian queso fresco (optional)crumbled
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Prepare the 20 squash blossoms: pull off the stems and the spiky green sepals, and pinch out the stamen inside. Shake out any insects, then roughly chop and divide into two piles.
8 minStep 2: Heat the 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a pot over a medium heat. Cook the 1 white onion and 1 clove garlic for 5 minutes until soft, then add half the blossoms and stir for 2 minutes until wilted.
7 minStep 3: Add 300 ml of the 5 cups vegetable stock and blend until smooth. Pour back into the pot with the rest of the stock and the 1 tsp salt.
3 minStep 4: Add the 2 courgettes, 5 ½ oz sweetcorn kernels and 2 sprigs fresh epazote. Simmer for 10 minutes until the courgette is just tender.
10 minStep 5: Stir in the remaining blossoms and cook for only 2 minutes. Adding them all at the start is a common mistake; they turn dark and slimy.
2 minStep 6: Remove the epazote, taste for salt and serve with the 2 ⅛ oz vegetarian queso fresco on top.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 120 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 16 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sopa de flor de calabaza take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of white onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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