Bread Soup from Chiapas

Published: Oct 31, 2020 · Updated: Nov 1, 2020 by María Inés Muñoz Gordillo

Bread Soup a delicious and satisfying one-pot meal. A soup made with plantains, squash, carrots, hard-cooked eggs, and bread simmered in a chicken and tomato broth with herbs and spices. Simply Scrumptious! This recipe is courtesy of María Inés Muñoz Gordillo.

This delicious Chiapas-style Bread Soup is a recipe from my grandmother. Bread Soup is very easy to prepare and is a very comforting dish. This is a traditional recipe from San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas.

Bread Soup a Classic recipe from Chiapas

Family events are the perfect time to try recipes which have been passed down for generations. A couple of months ago, as I returned to Tuxtla Gutiérrez, the capital of Chiapas, my cousins and I were reminiscing on the holiday or birthday reunions that would take place at my maternal grandmother Lupita’s house.

The table was always filled with food that she either prepared herself or guided the making of from the dinner table.

Her distinct cooking would make the uncles and cousins in the family make special requests for certain dishes, which would include meats, soups, and snacks to please all the guests, and this would result in many fun hours of chatting in the kitchen and dinner table.

For me, one of my favorite recipes from my grandmother was always her version of Sopa de Pan (Bread Soup), due to the special combination of sweet and salty flavors. I often helped her with the duties of chopping the vegetables, as well as the “decoration”, which is how she referred to the hardboiled egg in this recipe.

The Spanish influence in the Chiapas Gastronomy

With an evident Spanish influence, soups arrived in Mexico to be adapted to the local indigenous cuisine. Iberian culinary researchers note that the word “sopa” (“soup”) could trace its origin all the way back to 1739, when it was described as “a piece of bread soaked in any liquor” (El Comidista, El Pais, 2016), but we cannot discard the chance that it is related to the feeling of wellbeing and numbness caused by the consumption of certain substances, described by the word “sopor”, of Latin origin.

We must take into account that the temperatures in the wooded areas of Chiapas (where the colonial city of San Cristóbal is located) are predominantly cold due to the altitude, about 2,200 meters above sea level, so an aromatic soup is essential for staying comfortable.

Bolillo or Baguette for Bread Soup

With the fusion of cultures also comes the mixing of different ingredients, as well as the use of products that are accessible to everyone, such as the local bread commonly known as “bolillo” or “baguette”, which some bakeries still make using pork lard, flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and water. This bread, highly characteristic of Chiapas baking tradition, does not have the customary slit across the top of most baguettes or bolillos, and is sold in almost all markets in the state.

In Chiapas cuisine, Sopa de Pan (Bread Soup) is one of the most emblematic dishes, and it is served in all sorts of celebrations. In the fondas and touristic restaurants, you will find countless versions of this soup, all respecting several of its key ingredients: sliced bread (never in chunks), thyme, raisins, plantains, egg, carrots, and Italian squash. There are some who will add potatoes, peas, saffron, and green beans.

Using the ingredients on hand

It was commonly preferred to have a free-range chicken to prepare the broth for this soup, but nowadays we must adapt the original recipe to what we have on hand, as any family does. My grandmother would use bolillos from the local bakery if she couldn’t find any of the ones made in San Cristobal, and she used the vegetables that she had at home.

This recipe I present to you is the result of those days when I helped in the kitchen slicing the bread, eggs, and vegetables, and seeing how my grandmother would arrange everything in a pot before pouring in the broth for mealtime.

How to Make Chiapas Style Bread Soup

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INSTRUCTIONS:

• First we have to lightly fry the slices of bread in the oil, then let them drain over some paper (I use the same paper from the bakery). You can also toast them on a skillet, making sure to not burn them as that would give the soup a bitter taste.
• Separately, cook the carrots (skins removed) and the squash in some water until they are cooked but still firm. After that, let them cool and cut them into slices (with a medium thickness). Set aside.
• Hard-boil the eggs, then peel the shell off. Slice the eggs carefully, making sure that they do not crumble. Set aside.
• Slice the plantains (the slices should have a medium thickness) and fry them in 5 tablespoons of oil until they are golden in color. Set aside.

• Cut the tomatoes, onion, and garlic into small pieces, then lightly fry them in a saucepan with 3 tablespoons of oil. After this, add the chicken broth to the saucepan, then stir in the oregano, thyme, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Let simmer for 10 minutes, then taste and season with salt. Next, strain the broth, setting the vegetables aside. Turn the heat to low to keep the broth hot.

• In a deep casserole, arrange a layer of bread slices at the bottom. Above this, place a layer of vegetables, hardboiled egg, and plantains, with raisins scattered throughout. Repeat this process to form another layer of bread slices topped with another layer of vegetables, egg, plantains, and raisins.
• Next, pour the hot broth into the casserole, until it is beginning to cover the top layer of ingredients. Cover the casserole with its lid and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.

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