Nana's Sopa (Spanish Rice)


Hi!  My name is Samuel and I am guest blogging for my mom.  My Nana was born and raised in El Paso, Texas which comes in handy when it comes to getting culture points for High School Spanish.  Today, just in time for Cinco de Mayo, I am cooking with Nana and making her famous Sopa.  Nana makes Sopa at Christmas to go with Tamales and for TV football games to with tacos.  Today she is passing down that recipe to me.

The challenging part of this assignment was getting Nana to measure her ingredients.  Nana never measures anything and everything always turns out perfectly.  She doesn't even make things the same way every time.  Her motto is "If you don't have it, you don't need it."  In my opinion, this is the mark of someone who really knows how to cook!



To begin, turn the stove on to medium heat and stir together 1/2 cup of canola oil and 1 pound of long grain rice until the rice is a medium brown.



Next, chop up 1/2 of a large onion.


 Add the onion to the rice and continue to stir until the onion is caramelized.


Add 1 15 ounce can of tomato sauce (or less if you prefer a lighter color).
Diced tomatoes work too.


Next, chop 2 cloves of garlic and add them to the rice.


Add 6 cups of chicken stock, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of cumin.
Let simmer until the liquid is absorbed with the lid off, about 15 - 20 minutes.

Nana said that when she was growing up, they used water to make sopa, since if you wanted chicken stock, you had to make it yourself.  She said she thought that today, people eat richer food with more flavor.  Now she uses chicken stock when she has it.



Nana's Sopa

Ingredients:
1/2 cup canola oil
1 pound long grain white rice
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 15 ounce can of tomato sausce
6 cups chicken stock
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Turn the stove onto medium heat and stir oil and rice until rice is a medium brown color.  Add onion and continue to stir until onion is caramelized.

Add 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce or diced tomatoes.  Add chicken stock, garlic, salt and cumin.  Let simmer with lid off until liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally.  Adjust seasoning as needed.


THIS POST MAY BE LINKED TO: MONDAYS:  MADE BY YOU MONDAY, FLOUR ME WITH LOVE, MANIC MONDAY, TUESDAYS: TALENT SHOW TUESDAYS, TEMPT MY TUMMY TUESDAY, TRICK OR TREAT TUESDAY ,GET YOUR CRAFT ON,  MANDY'S RECIPE BOX  WEDNESDAYS: WORKS FOR ME WEDNESDAY, GINGER SNAP CRAFTS,  THURSDAYS:, STRUT YOUR STUFF, FULL PLATE THURSDAYS , CHIC & CRAFTY PARTY,FRIDAYS: I’M LOVING IT, FOODIE FRIDAY, FOOD ON FRIDAYS, TATERTOTS AND JELLO,   SHINE ON FRIDAYS, FRIDAY FAVORITES, BACON TIME , KITCHEN FUN WITH MY THREE SONS,   SATURDAYS:SWEETS FOR A SATURDAY SIX SISTERS STUFF, CRUMBS AND CHAOS, SUNDAYS: NIFTY THRIFTY THINGS




Comments

rebecca @ beurrista said…
Samuel, first of all, you've grown a bunch since I last saw you in DC. Second, I am impressed that you are making sopa and I'm sure your mama (and nana) are proud of you. Great job. I'll be making this for my kids! (I usually resort to the instant kind.)
May 3, 2013 at 5:47 PM
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