Sopita de Letras
To a little kid coming home from school, the best day was “sopita day”.
The day when I would walk through the door and a pot of sopita was hot and waiting for me. Usually my mother made hers with fideo, a thin noodle pasta, but when I met my wife, her grandma Margie made it with letras—letters. I combined them both in the way I remembered my mother’s tasting and the type of pasta Margie used when I made it for my son. I have altered these versions to also include sweet potato, cauliflower, peas and carrots, but by far, but this one with diced carrots and pureed sweet potatoes is just right.
You can use frozen carrots, just add them toward the end as opposed to the beginning of the cooking process. To keep control of the salt content, you can use low-sodium, or no-salt added tomato sauce and chicken broth. Add any veggies you’d like to the puree and adjust the consistency by adding more water or broth.
This also freezes beautifully, and is a real lifesaver when I need a quick meal!
Sopita de Letras
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 5oz alphabet pasta
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and diced to ½”
- ¼ tsp granulated garlic
- ¼ tsp granulated onion
- 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp dry mustard powder
- A pinch of celery salt
- 8 oz can of tomato sauce
- 3 cups chicken broth (low sodium optional)
- 1/2 cup sweet potato, puree
Instructions
- Over medium heat, place oil in a small soup pot and add the avocado oil. Once the oil is heated, add the pasta and carrots, then toss with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula to coat. Add the spices and toast gently, stirring constantly for about 30-45 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce and then add the chicken broth and sweet potato puree.
- Bring the heat up to boiling and cook until the pasta has become al dente. This will vary depending on the brand of pasta.
Notes:
If using gluten free pasta, Jovial brand brown rice angel hair pasta works very well.
