Sopa Tarasca

K has been writing about all of our great memories of Sopa Tarasca during our adventures in Michoacan -- and I have to admit that her writings have had me check out plane tickets to Morelia more than once, and if it weren't for the drugs and violence we would probably be heading down there at this moment. But until that situation settles down a bit we will have to make our own uchepos and sopa tarasca -- we'll save the enchiladas placeras for someone else.

After spending some time researching various recipes for sopa tarasca, I ended up coming upon a story that Pati Jinich wrote for NPR that had a recipe that sounded good. I actually remember reading this story when it first came out, shortly after our trip to Michoacan when we were still pining for Patzcuaro hardcore. At that time we didn't know who Jinich was.  Now, we are big fans, but that's a story for another day...

The recipe was quite easy to make -- basically just cook the beans, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and ancho chiles and then blend them all together with some stock...

...but, especially when combined with a bunch of garnishes, including homemade tortilla chips and fried pasilla peppers, fresh avocado and cilantro, and cotija cheese, the results were wonderful. And while I am sure that the special Rancho Gordo beans were part of what made this meal special, I'm planning to put this soup in heavy rotation soon!