How To Make Sopa De Lima (Mexican Lime Soup)
Sopa De Lima comes to us from the Yucatan region of Mexico. This is one variation of Tortilla Soup. We made this while staying in a beautiful house in Puerto Vallarta. We bought a rotisserie chicken from a street stall nearby, shredded the meat and made the broth from the bones.
This recipe is naturally gluten free.
Watch A Video
Here is a video of 2 Cooks in the Kitchen making Sopa De Lima:
Ingredients For Sopa De Lima:
- 1 Poblano Pepper
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 2 Tomatoes
- 1/2 Onion
- 3 Cups Chicken Broth
- 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin
- 1/4 Teaspoon Allspice
- 1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/8 Teaspoon Clove
- 1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Mexican Oregano
- 4 Small Pieces Lemon Zest
- 2 Tortillas
- 2 Cups Shredded Chicken
- 2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Grapefruit Juice
- Avocado Slices For Garnish
- Cilantro Leaves For Garnish
Prepare the Poblano
We’ll start by roasting our poblano so we can peel it. If we get the skin charred all over it sldes right off. We would do this step on the BBQ at home but here we will just use the burner.
Then we will cut it into a smallish dice.
Prepare the Garlic
We’ll put the garlic in a dry pan over the burner and get it blackened. We can peel it easily afterwards and then chop it into a fine dice.
Prepare the Tomatoes
We’ll put the tomatoes into the same pan and roast them until the skins start to fall off. We can peel them easily after they are roasted.
Then we will cut them into a small dice.
Prepare the Onions
Once the tomatoes are charred we’ll put the onion into the same pan and get some color on it.
We will cut the onion into a small dice and combine it with the other vegetables.
Cook the Vegetables
We’ll put a little olive oil in a frying pan and cook the chopped vegetables in it. We want to cook this fairly well, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Prepare the Broth
We’ll put our chicken broth in a soup pan and start heating it up.
Add Herbs and Spices
We’re going to add our flavorings to the broth while it heats. We’ll put in the cumin, allspice, clove, cinnamon, pepper, Mexican oregano and lime zest. We’ll let this simmer on low for about 30 minutes so the flavors all marry.
Prepare the Tortillas
Sopa De Lima is a version of tortilla soup and we will be adding tortillas to ours at the end. We’ll cut thew tortillas into strips.
Then we’ll fry them in oil.
And then we’ll remove them to a paper towel to drain.
Assemble the Sopa De Lima
Now we are ready to assemble our soup. We’ll put the shredded chicken into the broth.
Add the Lime
Next we will squeeze in the lime juice and add grapefruit juice. We’re using the lume zest from earlier and the grapefruit to simulate a Yucatan lime flavor.
Add the Vegetables
Next we’ll add our cooked vegetables to the pot. Once this all comes back up to hot it is time to serve.
Serve and Garnish
We’ll serve the sopa into bowls, add the fried tortilla strips and garnish with cilantro and avocado. We toasted some gluten free bread to go with it.
Here are some other Mexican soup recipes from 2 Cooks in the Kitchen:
And here are some other classic Mexican dishes:
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Sopa De Lima (Mexican Lime Soup)
Ingredients
- 1 Poblano Pepper
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 2 Tomatoes
- 1/2 Onion
- 3 Cups Chicken Broth
- 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin
- 1/4 Teaspoon Allspice
- 1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/8 Teaspoon Clove
- 1/4 Teaspoon Pepper
- 1/2 Teaspoon Mexican Oregano
- 4 Small Pieces Lemon Zest
- 2 Tortillas
- 2 Cups Shredded Chicken
- 2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Grapefruit Juice
- Avocado Slices For Garnish
- Cilantro Leaves For Garnish
Instructions
- Char the poblano skin. peel it, remove the stem and seeds and cut it into a small dice. Place in a bowl.
- Char the garlic cloves, peel them and chop finely. Place in the bowl
- Char the tomatoes, peel them and cut into a small dice. Add to the bowl
- Char the onion, peel it and cut into a small dice. Add to the bowl.
- Heat some oil in a large skillet, add all the chopped vegetables and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the onions are softened.
- Put the chicken broth in a soup pot. Add the cumin, allspice, clove, cinnamon, pepper, Mexican oregano and lime zest. Cook on low heat for 30 minutes.
- Cut the tortillas into small strips. Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a frying pan and fry the tortilla strips until crispy. Drain on a paper towel.
- Add the chicken to the chicken broth.
- Add the lime juice and grapefruit juice.
- Add the cooked vegetables to the soup pot, stir and let it get hot.
- Serve in bowls with the tortilla strips on top. Garnish with avocado and cilantro.