Sopa De Tortilla Molida
"Ground Tortilla Soup"
From the treasured pages of Libro de Cosina de la Sra Concepcion Lerma de Chacon
Written by Concepción Lerma de Chacón
Sopa De Tortilla Molida
"Se echan a remojar en leche diez tortillas frias y lla que estan se muelen en el metate con cuar-tilla de queso fresco, y lla que está bien molida la masita se asen unos bolillitos con la mano o en una mesa; se cortan los pedasitos chiquitos y se frien en en manteca se hase el caldiyo como todos y poco antes de comer se hechan á que den un ervor se pone a coser un huevo y la yema se ralla."
English Translation
"Soak ten cold tortillas in milk and, once they are soaked, grind them on a metate with a quarter of fresh cheese. When the dough is well ground, make small rolls with your hands or on a table; cut them into small pieces and fry them in lard. Make the broth as usual, and shortly before eating, add the pieces to let them boil. Cook an egg and grate the yolk."
Note on the Original Text
The recipe text is written in flowing, conversational prose, as was common in domestic notebooks of the era. Directions are preciously brief with the assumption of culinary experience—a gentle reminder that these were women’s handwritten guides, used for teaching daughters or servants in the kitchen, rather than for total novices. Spelling is informal and reflects period orthography: 'lla' for 'ya,' 'hechan' for 'echan,' and fused words ('asir' for 'hacer') illustrate both regional usage and a casual approach to written Spanish. Quantities are rough, ingredients often implied, and much is left to the cook’s judgment and familiarity with technique.
Title
Libro de Cosina de la Sra Concepcion Lerma de Chacon (1899)
You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome
Writer
Concepción Lerma de Chacón
Era
1899
Publisher
Unknown
Background
This delightful late 19th-century Mexican manuscript whisks readers into a world of decadent desserts like Dulce de leche y almendras and Cocada de natillas y almendras, savory delights such as Pollos en salsa de almendras and Lomo de cerdo enrollado, and other sumptuous creations, from Budin de papa to Sopa de gusanillos a la mexicana. It even includes intriguing pulque recipes—a true feast for the adventurous palate.
Kindly made available by
University of Texas at San Antonio
This recipe hails from the 'Libro de Cosina de la Sra Concepcion Lerma de Chacon,' a handwritten Mexican cookbook from 1899. The collection reflects the mingling of indigenous Mexican foodways—like the use of tortillas as a main ingredient—with European dairy and broths that marked upper-class kitchens at the turn of the last century. Sopa de tortilla molida embodies domestic ingenuity: stale tortillas are repurposed as dumplings, reflecting both thrift and creativity. The addition of grated egg yolk as a delicate finish hints at the influence of European (particularly Spanish) techniques that had become integrated into Mexican home cooking by this period.
Back in 1899, the soaking and blending of tortillas and cheese would be accomplished with a metate—a traditional Mexican grinding stone—used to crush and mix the dough. The dumplings would be shaped by hand or rolled with gentle pressure on a wooden board. Frying was done in a cast iron or clay pot over a wood or charcoal-fired stove, with lard as the frying medium. The broth would simmer in a large clay or enameled pot, and a small metal grater or knife would serve to shred the egg yolk.
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Servings
4
We've done our best to adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, but some details may still need refinement. We warmly welcome feedback from fellow cooks and culinary historians — your insights support the entire community!
Ingredients
- 10 corn tortillas (about 7 oz, day-old or cold)
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 oz queso fresco (or substitute mild feta or ricotta salata)
- 1–1.5 oz lard (or substitute vegetable oil for frying)
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 hard-boiled egg (yolk only, grated)
- Salt, to taste
- Optional: few sprigs epazote or cilantro
- Optional: 1/4 onion for broth
Instructions
- Begin by soaking 10 cold corn tortillas (about 7 oz total) in 1 cup whole milk until fully softened, about 20-30 minutes.
- Using a food processor or a sturdy mortar and pestle, blend the soaked tortillas with 2 oz of fresh Mexican cheese (queso fresco) until a uniform, thick dough forms.
- Take small portions of the dough and roll them with your hands or on a work surface into little oval dumplings.
- Slice these dumplings into bite-sized pieces.
- Heat 2–3 tablespoons (1–1.5 oz) of lard or vegetable oil in a skillet and fry the pieces until golden and crisp.
- Meanwhile, prepare a light chicken or vegetable broth (about 4 cups), seasoning it simply with salt, a few sprigs of epazote (or cilantro), and perhaps onion.
- Just before serving, drop the fried tortilla-cheese pieces into the hot broth and let them simmer for a minute, so they soak up some flavor but remain firm.
- Separately, hard-boil an egg.
- Peel and grate the yolk, sprinkling it over the soup as a garnish at serving time.
Estimated Calories
220 per serving
Cooking Estimates
You will spend about 20 minutes soaking the tortillas, 15 minutes shaping and frying the dumplings, and another 10 minutes simmering everything together. Prepping the other ingredients and making the broth will take about 15 minutes. This recipe makes about 4 servings, and each serving is around 220 calories.
As noted above, we have made our best effort to translate and adapt this historical recipe for modern kitchens, taking into account ingredients nowadays, cooking techniques, measurements, and so on. However, historical recipes often contain assumptions that require interpretation.
We'd love for anyone to help improve these adaptations. Community contributions are highly welcome. If you have suggestions, corrections, or cooking tips based on your experience with this recipe, please share them below.
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