Sopa de Mora Salvadoreña

5 from 4 votes

A light, brothy soup made with vegetables, nightshade greens and chicken broth finished with ribbons of beaten egg from El Salvador, Central America and Mexico. Serves 6.

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: Appetizer, Lunch

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: hierba mora, sopa de mora recita, sopa de quelites

Servings: servings

Calories: 321kcal

Author: Alan Bergo

Cost: 5

Equipment

1 3 quart sauce pot
1 8 oz mixing bowl

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Cooking oil chicken fat or lard
1 Jalapeno (optional) seeded and diced ¼ inch
1 Large clove garlic minced
1 Medium onion 5 oz diced ½ inch
1 Medium golden potato (6 oz) peeled and diced ½ inch
1 Zucchini or summer squash (8 oz) quartered lengthwise, seeded and diced
2 Small roma tomatoes, roughly 6 oz (optional)
8 cups Chicken stock or vegetable broth
4 oz Hierba mora leaves black nightshade greens, sliced into 1 inch ribbons
3 Large eggs beaten
8 oz Cooked leftover chicken from making the broth (optional)

Optional Garnishes

1 Avocado diced
Fresh torn herbs like basil or cilantro
1 Lime, cut into wedges
4 Tbsp Sour cream or Mexican Crema optional
Warmed flour or corn tortillas optional

Instructions

Core the tomatoes and score the bottom with an X. Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water until the scored skin begins to peel back, about 30 seconds.
Remove the tomatoes and peel, then squeeze the seeds out in a dish and discard. Roughly chop the tomatoes and reserve.
In a 3-4 quart soup pot, sweat the garlic, jalapeno and onion in the oil for 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent.
Add the potatoes, zucchini, tomatoes and chicken broth, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
Add the sliced hierba mora leaves and cook until tender. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning for salt, stir and repeat until it tastes good to you. Add the avocado if using.
Pour in the egg slowly around the edge of the pot, waiting for a few seconds for the eggs to cook before stirring. Some recipes simply poach whole eggs directly in the soup.
Don't stir the soup until the egg is completely cooked to keep the texture of the egg ribbons.
Add the cilantro or basil if using along with the avocado, a squeeze of fresh lime and serve.

Video

Notes

Nightshade greens are the traditional vegetable used in the soup, but purslane / verdolagas can be a good substitute if you have some.

Nutrition