Sopa Tarasca

Ingredients

• 400 g cooked pinto or flor de mayo beans, plus 250 ml of their liquid
• 4 plum tomatoes
• 0.5 white onion, in one piece
• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 3 ancho chillies, stemmed and seeded
• 900 ml chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 sprigs epazote
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1.5 tsp fine salt
• 6 corn tortillas, cut into 5 mm strips
• 150 ml Mexican crema
• 100 g Cotija cheese, crumbled
• 1 ripe avocado, sliced

Before you cook

• Cut the tortillas into thin strips and spread them out to dry for 15 minutes.
• Stem and seed the ancho chillies, then cut two of them into thin rings and leave one whole.
• Measure out the beans with their cooking liquid.

Steps

1. Heat a dry heavy pan over high heat.
2. Char the tomatoes, onion half and unpeeled garlic in the dry pan for 10 minutes, turning, until blackened in patches and softened.
3. Peel the garlic and drop it into a blender with the tomatoes and onion.
4. Add the whole ancho chilli to the pan for 30 seconds a side, then tear it into the blender.
5. Add the beans and their liquid to the blender and blend everything until completely smooth.
6. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat.
7. Pour in the blended purée, standing back as it spits, and fry it for 8 minutes, stirring, until it darkens and thickens.
8. Pour in the stock and add the epazote and salt.
9. Simmer the soup for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it coats the back of a spoon.
10. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
11. Fry the tortilla strips in two batches for 2 minutes each, until golden and crisp, then drain them on paper.
12. Fry the ancho rings in the same oil for 15 seconds, until they puff, then drain them.
13. Fish out the epazote sprigs and taste the soup for salt.
14. Ladle the soup into warm bowls.
15. Top each bowl with tortilla strips, fried ancho rings, a swirl of crema, crumbled Cotija and slices of avocado.