Fideo Soup (Sopita de Fideo) Recipe

If you were to talk to any Mexican mom, fideo is one of the go-to meals for their babies once they start eating solids at 6 months. It’s so tiny they don’t have to chew much. “Stop the Gerber stuff,” my mom would say. “Make a sopa de fideo!” My kids would have it at least twice a week, and she would make this for my kids when I was at work. My husband says it’s perfect cold weather comfort food that takes you back to childhood. It’s a blank canvas on which you can get creative. The big difference in the way I make fideo versus others is my use of fresh ingredients. Most people use canned tomatoes, but using fresh is a game changer, like when you make your own fresh tomato sauce versus canned. — Jenny Martinez

 

Fideo Soup (Sopita de Fideo)

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves 8 to 10

 

Ingredients

• 3 Roma tomatoes
• 2 Mexican green onions, or 4 regular green onions (see notes)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 (8-ounce) packages of fideo pasta
• ¼ white onion, diced
• Toppings (see notes)
• Queso fresco
• Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• Tapatio hot sauce (optional)

 

Directions

In a blender, add 2 cups of water, the tomatoes, green onions, garlic and chicken bouillon powder. Blend until smooth and set the tomato sauce aside. (Always have the sauce ready before the pasta is done.) Heat the oil in a medium pan over medium-low heat, add the pasta and cook, stirring continually, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Add the white onion and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add 6 cups of water, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil.

Boil until the pasta is cooked and the broth has slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Serve in a bowl topped with the queso fresco, a sprinkle of cilantro and, if desired, a couple drops of hot sauce.

Notes: Mexican green onions are more mature scallions. The white bulbs are larger and fully formed. Another serving option is to top the bowl with freshly cooked beans, queso fresco, onion and chopped tomatoes. And sometimes I don’t use any toppings and simply serve the soup with cheese quesadillas or crackers on the side.

Excerpted from My Mexican Mesa, Y Listo! Copyright © 2024, Jenny Martinez. Photography Copyright © 2023 by Jennifer Chong. Reproduced by permission of Simon Element, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC. All rights reserved.

 

Cook with Jenny

Martinez shared two more recipes from My Mexican Mesa, Y Listo! for AARP members to try:

Papitas Enchiladas

In restaurants in Mexico, they serve these little round wax potatoes instead of chips. They’re great appetizers with a beer on a hot day.

Mexican Churros

Churros are the most famous dessert from Mexico these days, and you can find churros-flavored everything, from cheesecake to ice cream. There’s some technique involved but they’re so easy to make once you get the hang of it. 

Read about Jenny Martinez’s cookbook, My Mexican Mesa, Y Listo!