Mexican Chorizo Soup with Cabbage (Sopa Caldosa)

Mexican Chorizo Soup with Cabbage (Sopa Caldosa)

Chorizo Soup with Chickpeas and Cabbage. Mexican chorizo adds a delightful topping to this shredded cabbage chickpea soup. In a tangy tomato broth, this soup is hearty and filling and perfect for when you need to warm up after a blustery cold day.

Course Soup, Stews and Chilis

Cuisine Mexican

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings

Calories 318kcal

Author Lea Ann Brown

Equipment

Dutch Oven

Ingredients

2 slices bacon thick cut, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 cup onion chopped. Sweet or yellow onion preferred.
1 clove garlic minced
8 cups green cabbage thin sliced, about 1 pound
5 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
15 ½ ounce chickpeas canned, drained
14 ½ ounce tomatoes canned, undrained and chopped
1 pound Chorizo Mexican, cooked and crumbled
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or cilantro for garnish

Instructions

In a fry pan, cook the Mexican chroizo until browned. Drain grease and set aside.
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. When the pot has heated up, add the bacon pieces and cook until almost crisp.
Add the chopped onion and cook until just becoming tender, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook until the garlic becomes fragrant.
Add cabbage sauté 10 minutes, stirring regularly until the cabbage is starting to brown, or caramelizing. If the pan seems dry, add a glug of olive oil.
Add chicken broth, chickpeas, tomato paste and tomatoes. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.
Stir in the vinegar.
Ladle soup into bowls; top with Mexican Chorizo and chopped cilantro.
To make this soup creamy, don't hesitate to add a big dollop of sour cream.

Notes

If you don't have chickpeas on hand, canned Great Northern Beans are a good substitute.

If you use the tubed version of chorizo, rather than the bulk, purchase two tubes. The tubed chorizo cooks down to a lot less meat.

Pro Tips For Succes:

Soup season isn't the time to purchase those sad flavorless hot-house tomatoes at the market. Purchase a good brand of chopped canned tomatoes. Canned tomatoes are bright and flavorful because they were canned at the height of the tomato season.
If using canned chickpeas for this soup, use good quality organic canned chickpeas. Just rinse them well in a colander and add to the soup. Simple and easy.
Want to make this a vegetarian Mexican cabbage soup? Trader Joe's has a product called Soy Chorizo product, a soy based sausage chorizo substitute. Not to be confused with Spanish chorizo, this comes in a two link package and is a substitute for Mexican Chorizo,

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