Comfort Food Classics: Sopa de Espagueti (Mexican Spaghetti)

Growing up I ate a lot of pasta.  There wasn't a day of the week that my grandmother didn't prepare some kind of pasta, except for the one day a week she'd make Mexican Rice.  Gramm always prepared her pasta the same way with onion, tomato, and tomato sauce just like her Sopa de Fideo Seco.  The only thing that changed from day to day was the shape of the pasta. One day she'd make macaroni, the next day she'd make Letras (letters), and the day after that she'd go back to making fideo (vermicelli).  The only pasta I can't recall my grandmother ever making is spaghetti, even though Gramm always referred to her Sopa de Fideo as Mexican Spaghetti. 

But Mexican Spaghetti is actually a completely different recipe.  My recipe combines elements from both my suegra's recipe for Sopa de Espagueti, which my kiddies remember fondly, and the recipe of a good friend of mine who is originally from Morelia, Michoacan (here in Mexico), which was the first kind of Mexican Spaghetti I'd ever tasted.  My suegra's recipe for Sopa de Espagueti is fairly simple: spaghetti, some butter, and a box of tomato sauce. The real secret to her Sopa de Espagueti was in how she cooked the spaghetti.  She'd add half an onion to the cooking water, along with a cube of Knorr Suiza (chicken bouillon). My friend's recipe included making your own sauce with pureed tomato and onion, very much like Sopa de Fideo. The secret to my friend's amazing spaghetti was that she added Mexican crema to the sauce.

By combining both of those delicious recipes, we get the best of both worlds.  Mexican Spaghetti is a favorite in our house.  It makes an appearance on our table about once a week.  Sometimes as a side dish, and sometimes as the main dish.

Sopa de Espagueti (Mexican Spaghetti)


Ingredients:

• 8 cups water
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1 cube chicken flavored bouillon (I use Knorr Suiza)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (6 to 8oz.) package uncooked spaghetti (I used a 200gr. package) 
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 3/4 cup Mexican crema
• Garlic salt
• Ground black pepper
• Queso Fresco

Directions: 
Bring the water, onion, chicken flavored bouillon cube, and salt to a boil over high heat in a deep skillet or saucepan.  Add the spaghetti, reduce heat to medium and let cook for about 15 minutes or until the spaghetti is completely cooked. Drain the spaghetti (DO NOT RINSE) and set aside; discard the onion.

In the same skillet you cooked the spaghetti melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the tomato sauce and Mexican crema. Stir well with a wire whisk to combine; season with garlic salt and ground black pepper. Stir in the cooked spaghetti and toss gently to cover noodles with sauce.  Reduce heat to low and let cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Sprinkle crumbled queso fresco all over the spaghetti. Cover skillet and let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!

Receta en Español 

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