The Mexican Slow Cooker: Recipes for Mole, Enchiladas, Carnitas, Chile Verde Pork, and More Favorites (6 page)

Mexican
carnicerías
(butchers) sell long, looping skeins of
longaniza,
a mild pork sausage flavored with garlic, red chile, cumin, and oregano (not to be confused with the Spanish or Filipino sausages of the same name, which are very different).
Longaniza
is widely used in Mexican cooking, though it is less well known in the United States. A quality Mexican pork chorizo may be substituted. This high-fiber soup, packed with vegetables, freezes well.

Remove the casing from the
longaniza
and crumble the sausage into a 6-quart slow cooker. Layer the rest of the remaining ingredients in the slow cooker, in the order that they are listed. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours, checking occasionally and adding more water if needed. Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving hot.

For many,
sopa de fideos
is
the
comforting taste of home. It is served everywhere, every day, in tiny
loncherías
, tony men’s clubs, and traditional restaurants as well as at mama’s kitchen table. I had this version at the venerable Fonda el Refugio in Mexico City’s Zona Rosa, where a crew of formidable female cooks
(las mayoras)
rule the kitchen. This slow cooker recipe takes only a couple of hours from start to finish. It is made with coils of toasted
fideos,
which are similar to capellini, also called angel hair pasta. For the meat, use shredded bits from
Caldo de Res
,
Shredded Beef
, or any other leftover meat.

Combine the Roma tomatoes and water in a small saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium-high and simmer the tomatoes until softened, about 5 minutes. Drain, reserving the cooking water, and place the tomatoes in a blender along with the canned tomatoes and their juice; don’t blend yet.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Break the
fideos
up into 1-inch pieces and fry slowly, stirring often, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove them from the skillet and drain on a paper towel.

Wipe out the pan and add the remaining ½ tablespoon of oil. Sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat stirring often, until soft and golden. Add the onions and garlic to the tomatoes in the blender and puree until very smooth. (For a smoother texture, you can press the puree through a fine-mesh sieve or food mill, if you like.)

Pour the puree back into the hot skillet and fry over medium heat, stirring often, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. (If the sauce splatters, reduce the heat.)

Add the puree to the slow cooker along with the broth and reserved tomato cooking liquid. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour, then add the
fideos,
reduce the heat to low, and cook, covered, until the pasta is soft, about 1 hour more. Just before serving, stir in the cooked meat. Serve the soup hot with the avocado,
chicharrón,
and chiles on the side.

This soup is a typically thrifty and sustaining
sopa de frijol
(bean soup) with the added advantage of being meatless. The
habas
, or dried fava beans, fall apart into tender, skinless crumbs that soak up the other flavors. They have a distinctive taste, but you can also use bayo or pinto beans in this dish. Garnish the soup with your choice of rich, spicy toppings, such as a drizzle of flavorful Baja California olive oil or a sprinkle of spicy chorizo. Ladled over croutons, it becomes a thick, delicious
sopa seca.
Or just enjoy it unadorned to appreciate how flavorful a few simple ingredients can be.

Rinse and pick over the
habas,
discarding any that are dark. Place in a 4-quart slow cooker with 5 cups of the water, the salt, and 1 of the garlic cloves. Cook on low until the
habas
are falling apart, 4 to 6 hours. Discard the garlic.

Combine the tomatoes and serranos in a small saucepan with the remaining 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil until softened, about 5 minutes. Drain, reserving the water, and place the tomatoes and serranos in a blender.

Slice the remaining 2 cloves of garlic. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened and pale gold, about 5 minutes. Add to the blender with the tomatoes and puree until smooth. (For a smoother texture, you can press the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, if you like.)

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the same pan over medium heat. Add the tomato puree and cook, stirring often, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Transfer the cooked
habas
and their liquid to the blender. Puree and return to the slow cooker. Add the tomato puree, cover, and reheat on low. Thin the soup as needed with some of the reserved tomato cooking liquid. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve as is, or topped with any of the suggested garnishes.

This easy soup tastes of the very essence of corn. Try to find sweet yellow corn at your market. It contains more starch than white corn, which naturally thickens the soup, and the long simmering in the slow cooker brings out the corn’s natural sweetness. Simmering the scraped cobs with the soup gives it even more flavor, while a final swirl of thick Mexican
crema
gives it a touch of buttery decadence.