Super Sopas: 10 Soups and Stews that Takes Their Cues from Traditional Latin Recipes

Once in a while, when my kids begin to whine about having to finish an adequate portion of the healthy and balanced meal they are served before they can even contemplate the idea of having dessert, I tell them it could be worse. They could have been born in Latin America, where they would be asked to finish both their sopa and their seco (the main dish, described in opposition to the wet soup as “dry”), to finally qualify for a postre. Not buying what I’m selling, they are content to explain to me the various reasons that is absurd, an exaggeration and an imposition, and include the fact that we live in South Florida where, they insist, it is way too hot to eat soup.

But we have air conditioning, and I can crank it up, is my usual retort to my guys, who much like my childhood heroine from the 1970s comic strip, the precocious pacifist Mafalda, have strong opinions on politics and the economy but not much taste for soup. I’m not sure why they reject this warm, nourishing, semi-liquid meal that is a staple throughout cultures and the best repository for all the random veggie odds and ends in the bottom of your crisper, but I suspect it’s because they’ve never suffered a bone-chilling morning in Bogotá, just to tuck into a bowl of steaming hot ajiaco for lunch. 

2Aguadito

Chicken Aguadito Soup
Photo Credit perudelights.com

With its essence in its name, the basis for this very cilantro-y soup is its broth. Popular in Perú and Ecuador, aguadito de gallina would cure a cold with its chicken base, easy-on-the-stomach rice and zing from the cilantro and the addition of lime juice to finish. Aguadito de mariscos, made with assorted seafood and similar flavorings, is also a delight.

Encebollado 

Encebollado BELatina
Delicious encebollado fish stew from Ecuador traditional food national dish closeup

Named after its pickled garnish of marinated onions (and tomatoes), this Ecuadorian fish stew relies on cilantro, cumin, and a little chile in the broth to give the tuna and yuca that make up the bulk of this dish it’s traditional flavor. Once again, pairing a fresh protein with a thickening root vegetable results in a hearty stew made texturally interesting by the final addition of fried plantain chips.