My nieces arrived from Kansas to spend a week with us here in Edinburg. I had big plans, art projects lined up, baking recipes prepped , park dates planned and then the unexpected.
The smallest fell ill. I felt, well kinda dumb. I being a mom should of known better, “never plan ahead, expect the unexpected,” and here I was planning our week.
She lost her appetite, wanted to snuggle and missed her mom. All plans came to a halt. We settled in with quilts, cartoons and tried our best to make her comfortable. The following day she felt a little better, she played with blocks, ate a light breakfast and she did her best to shake it off. As I set off to prepare lunch I asked her if she wanted “sopita.”
Sopita or sopa is what I believe to be a true Mexican comfort food. Introduced to babies as one of their first soups, sopita is a chicken broth based soup with small pastas or fideo. Small pastas come in many shapes such as little stars, alphabets, small shells, fideo, elbows or melon seeds. The soup is infused with tomatoes, garlic, onion and cilantro. Every household has their version, their own twist, their “sopa style.” I prefer my mom’s version as she would say “caldudito” soupy, brothy.
My heart warmed as she became stronger with each passing day, then her older sister came down with a tummy ache. Sopita round two began.
I turn to this sopa when my girls are feeling down, when the weather is chilly or if I crave the company of my mom. Enjoy! Sweet Life!
I thank you all who left heart warming comments on my last post, I love you all dearly!
Fideo ~ Vermicelli
Letras ~ Alphabet
Estrellitas ~ little stars
Conchitas ~ small shells
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sopa de Fideo
by Vianney Rodriguez
by Sweet Life
serves 4 (children)
serves 2 (adults)
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 large tomato or 2 small roma tomatoes
1 small onion, halved
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 cup cilantro
4 tbsp canola oil
7 ounce bag of fideo
salt
pepper
Heat oven to 450
Place tomato or tomatoes, onion, and garlic on baking sheet and roast on high temp until skin is blistered, about 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and add to blender with cilantro, blend until smooth, set aside.
In a dutch oven or medium saucepan add oil on medium high heat. Allow the oil to heat, you want the fideo to sizzle when added.
Add the fideo and stir until fideo is golden brown. about 2 or 3 minutes.
Add your blended mix and stir to combine.
Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper
~~~~~~~~~~
With Papas
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
add potatoes after you add chicken stock.
cover and cook for 15 minutes
I’m adding this soup to #SoupPalooza
“Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by KitchenAid, Red Star Yeast and Le Creuset” in your blog post.
Heck yeah, Sopa de Fideo ROCKS in our house. I was such a bad little girl and I use to tell my mom how much I hated Fideo ( but ate it all up anyways) and now I am all grown up and thats what I make for my children at least once a week! HA!
Aww, Nurse Bonnie =). Sounds like you’ve been having a busy week. Hopefully they’re all better now; I’m sure your sopa helped! It looks amazing, I want to curl up with a bowl right now.
xx
Fideo is our favorite, on a lazy day I add pieces of chicken to it, easier when you have a rotisserie chicken on hand. But the best is when Fideo accompanies Albondigas, Mexican Meatball soup. Reminds me of my Great-Grandmother’s cooking and the trip to the back yard to get the yerba buena.
@Christina thanks for stopping by, oh yes fideo with albondigas ~~~pure comfort!!
sweetlife
Ay! The memories of my Abuelita’s sopita came to mind as I read your post and looked at your photos. Just like your nieces a bowl of sopita always seemed to revive me, giving me comfort like no other medicine could ever do. Thank you for the receta and for the memories!
Btw, I am so glad you linked up your recipe on Sabroso Saturday! Hope you join again next week. Abrazos!
Dios mio, this brings back memories. My mom and granny used to make me sopa de fideos when I was little. I never made it. Now I thnk I might have to.
Mami’s sopita always does the trick – this recipe looks especially hearty with all the fresh herbs and loads of veggies! I hope your smallest feels better soon.
This does look like a bowl of comfort and love and I am sure your niece felt at home slurping up the energy and love from you. The broth looks so noursihing!
🙂
valerie
Your recipe brought so many memories! Sopita made everything better. Thank you for sharing.
Poor little one, hope she is feeling better. Lovely soup for sure 🙂
Even though I’m not sick at the moment, I want some of this…for breakfast. Feels like one of those days where I might stay in my pjs and this post is encouraging me to do just that.
Awww…..it always happens to me- when I make great plans, something happens 🙁 Sounds like you still had a great time, even if it didn’t go according to plan! This soup looks very comforting- and I love that it has pasta in it- it looks so good! We have an asian noodle/pasta thing which is in the exact shape as those little stars! haha….
Oh how this made me miss my own sweet niece. You are so precious to make such a comforting soup. Thank you for sharing this loveliness tonight. I hope that tomorrow is full of happy moments, joyful conversation and plates of satisfying food
Oh! My husband would love this post…and Fideos definitely make me think of him (he introduced me to them many years ago…). Looks so comforting and delicious.
Bonnie! This soup looks so amazing. I’m going to the store in a minute and I’m going to pick up potato and cilantro, so that I can make this. It looks so incredibly wholesome and good. I think Pips will be feeling much better very soon;-)
Yum yum…
Oh I wish I had a lovely aunty to make this for me! What a delicious soup. HOpe you have a wonderful time with your nieces!
*kisses* HH
This dish looks very heart warming! I would love a bowl of that right now. It is wonderful that every culture has their bowl of comforting food served during convalescence.
Oh no! Poor little girls. You definitely made them feel at home with this soup! My mom used to make us soup too when we were sick. Total comfort food.
Love this soupy pasta treat, Bonnie! My kids are surely going to thank you for this 🙂
This soup is wonderful! My kids especially daughter love soup with fideos as this is what we make in the Lebanese kitchen as well.
Oh the lovely childhood memories you have stirred in me of my mami’s sopa de fideo. I love them with fideo, estrellitas and conchitas. There are magical powers in sopita, they always make me feel better. Thank you for this lovely and heart warming post, made my day:)
This truly sounds like a comforting meal. I would love to eat this while sick, or on any dready winter day. Thanks for sharing!
Don’t ever feel bad about being the enthusiastic and generous person you are.
So, plans changed…but they haven’t left the building. You’ll do them at a time where they may be even more appreciated ;o)
Bonnie…I love the name ‘Sopita’…I’ll start calling my Italian version ‘Zuppita’…too cute!
Have a better week ahead…chin up…it could only happen to the living ;o)
Ciao for now,
Claudia
Love your post here lady! Sorry haven’t been having the time to drop by blogs. Please forgive my hectic life now. I try my best to drop by whenever I can 🙂 Love the soup you made here. Hows everything going?
Have a lovely week.
jen @ http://www.passion4food.ca
Very comforting indeed! That sopita looks really delicious. A speciality I have never eaten…
Cheers,
Rosa
what a pity about your niece feeling under the weather but your soup sounds absolutely wonderful and tasty.
🙂 Mandy
A delicious and comforting soup with fideo!
I love this soup. I made it once long ago. It’s soothing and nourishing. And you remind me that it’s high time I made it again. 😉
I like all of the different fideos that you add to your sopa. I hope your little one feels better soon! 🙂
Aww I love how you spelled out sweet life in pasta! As it’s getting colder here this soup would be a very welcome distraction from the cold! 🙂
A wonderfully comforting soup and so yummy with fideos!
I don’t know the name and it is completely new to me but I am liking this dish already….it has all the ingredients I love and I have these ingredients all the time!
This soup looks so warm and comforting!!!
Sopa de Fideo is very popular on menus and kitchens in Mexico. Children love it and moms make it all the time here. Good comfort food.
Kathleen
This looks delicious! I love noodle soup. I’ve never seen little star shaped pasta like this. These are so cute!
lovely post and your the best Aunt ever, love this soup I remember smiling at all the little pastas in Italy for kids, thanks for liking my fish tacos that means a lot to me as your the pro
I’ve never seen this before, but it looks so comforting! I hope the soup brought both back to their health in time for a few of your big plans to come to fruition 🙂
Me encanta!! I love sopa de fideos, coincidence that I am craving one today and I just called my hubby to bring me some carrots and potatoes. Your looks delicious. I hope your niece is already better 🙂
Oh, what a sweetheart! This looks comforting anytime for big kids too.
I love the new look! Esp. the Texas flag!!
I adore this soup and turn to it even when I’m not sick.