Sopa de Flor de Calabaza

The blossoms torn in and the pot taken off the heat in the same movement, because ninety seconds is all they have.

Chicken. Not vegetarian — contains cheese whose rennet the source does not name, chicken.

Ingredients

• 250 g squash blossoms
• 1 courgette, in small dice
• 200 g sweetcorn kernels
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 poblano chilli, charred, skinned and diced
• 1.2 litres chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon oil
• a sprig of epazote
• salt
• 150 g crumbly white cheese, to serve
• corn tortillas, as on their own page, to serve

Method

1. THE BLOSSOMS GO IN AND THE POT COMES OFF THE HEAT IN THE SAME MOVEMENT, because ninety seconds is all they have. A squash blossom is almost entirely water held in a very thin membrane. For about a minute and a half in hot stock it wilts to a soft orange ribbon and gives the broth a distinct, faintly sweet, almost melony flavour that is the reason to make the soup. By four or five minutes the ribbons have gone slimy and the flavour has boiled off into the kitchen, and what is left is a courgette and corn soup. So everything else is finished and seasoned first, the blossoms are torn in, the pot comes off the stove, and it is ladled out.
2. THE PISTIL AND THE GREEN BASE ARE PULLED OUT FIRST. The stamen inside is bitter and the tough green sepals at the base stay stringy however briefly they are cooked. Both come away with a pinch of the fingers, blossom by blossom, and it takes about five minutes for two hundred and fifty grams.
3. THEY ARE TORN AND NOT CHOPPED. A knife bruises them and they weep; torn in half or in three by hand, they keep their shape as ribbons in the bowl, which is most of how the soup looks.
4. THEY ARE NOT WASHED UNLESS THEY MUST BE. Blossoms are fragile and absorb water readily, and a washed blossom goes limp before it reaches the pan and dilutes its own flavour. A shake and a look inside for insects is normally enough; if they do need rinsing it is the briefest possible, and they are dried on a cloth.
5. THE BROTH IS SEASONED BEFORE THE BLOSSOMS GO IN, NOT AFTER. There is no time to taste and correct once they are in -- the soup is being served. Salt is judged while there is still something sturdy in the pan.
6. The blossoms gone through one at a time: the PISTIL pulled out of the centre and the tough GREEN SEPALS pinched off the base. Not washed unless necessary.
7. TORN by hand into halves or thirds. Not chopped.
8. The butter and oil warmed in a pot and the onion and garlic cooked 6 minutes until soft and not coloured.
9. The diced courgette added and cooked 4 minutes.
10. The sweetcorn and the diced charred poblano added and cooked 3 minutes.
11. The stock added with the epazote and brought to a simmer. Cooked 10 MINUTES.
12. The epazote lifted out.
13. TASTED AND SALTED NOW, properly, while there is still time.
14. Warm bowls and the cheese within reach.
15. The torn blossoms tipped in all at once and stirred through ONCE.
16. THE POT TAKEN OFF THE HEAT IMMEDIATELY and left 90 SECONDS, no more.
17. Ladled straight into the warm bowls, with the cheese crumbled on and tortillas.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Mexico · All recipes