Lilly Higgins: A delicious Mexican soup that’s easy, cheap and quick

Sopa de fideo is a delicious and easy Mexican soup that uses basic, affordable ingredients and comes together in minutes. Like all traditional comfort food classics there are many different family recipes and variations.

Fideo means noodle, referring to the thin, short golden pasta. It’s the main ingredient but regular spaghetti broken into one-inch pieces is the perfect substitute.

The noodles give the soup plenty of flavour, as they’re sautéed in oil first till golden brown. This gives a delicious nutty flavour to the soup. The tomatoes and onions are then blended together with stock and poured over. Sometimes garlic, jalapeños and spices are added to this mix. I sieve the blended sauce to create a smooth velvety broth that simmers gently with the pasta until it is tender and the liquid is reduced.

Then all you need do is add a spritz of lime juice and some coriander, ladle into bowls and add your optional toppings. My kids love crumbling tortilla chips on top of buttery diced avocado. It makes an easy and quick after school snack with basic ingredients. I like to load the soup up with different vegetables too: diced peppers, carrots or courgettes work well. This soup makes a useful base recipe, so leftover cooked vegetables or roasted chicken can be added. You can also use tiny conchiglie pasta or orzo to ring in the changes.

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Don’t be tempted to skip toasting the pasta. This is crucial to get the nutty flavour and texture for the soup. Also, stir the soup regularly as it simmers so the pasta cooks evenly. Be careful not to overcook the spaghetti, a little bite is good.

Fresh tomatoes are usually used and give such a great flavour, but tinned can be used in a pinch. Fideo con frijols adds beans, another version adds meatballs and another tops the soup with a fried egg or ladles the soup over an omelette. At its simplest, a few slices of jalapeño, some freshly chopped coriander and a squeeze of lime finishes it beautifully.

Lilly’s Kitchen Tips

• You can use a good stock cube for this soup or use your own home-made stock. Defrost frozen stock easily by sitting the frozen container into a basin of cold water.
• Wash fresh herbs such as coriander as soon as you buy them, then roll them in a light cloth or napkin and store in the fridge. Alternatively, sit them into a jar of water like a bunch of flowers and store in the fridge.
• Roll a hard lime on your kitchen worktop to soften it, or sit it into a bowl of boiling water for a few minutes. This way it will yield much more juice.

Recipe: Sopa de fideo