Cooking in
Ontario
Mexican
Caldillo Zapatero (Quick Soup for Lent)
A lean, fast Lenten soup from the city of Oaxaca, built around nopales (pads of Opuntia cactus) in a light tomato broth finished with beaten eggs. The name zapatero — shoemaker — likely nods to its humble, workaday character rather than any elaborate technique. Dried shrimps, ground to a powder, are an optional but traditional addition that deepens the broth without overwhelming it. Two additions of epazote (Dysphania ambrosioides) — one early, one at the finish — give the soup a layered herbal backbone.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
Cook
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
7 cups (1.75 L)
water
Your own market
1 medium
white onion, coarsely chopped (first addition)
Your own market
2
garlic cloves, peeled and smashed (first addition)
Your own market
Salt to taste
Your own market
18 oz (500 g)
nopales (Opuntia spp.), cleaned and cut into small squares
Not yet stocked in Ontario
2 large
sprigs epazote (Dysphania ambrosioides), divided
Not yet stocked in Ontario
14 oz (400 g)
unpeeled tomatoes, finely chopped
Not yet stocked in Ontario
½ medium
white onion, finely chopped (second addition)
Your own market
4 small
garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped (second addition)
Your own market
2
eggs, lightly beaten
Your own market
⅔ cup / 190 ml / 50 g
small or medium dried shrimps, ground fine (optional)
Your own market
II
The Method
1
Bring water to a simmer with coarsely chopped onion, smashed garlic, and salt.
2
Add nopales and one sprig of epazote. Simmer briefly until nopales are just tender.
From the canon — Epazote (Dysphania ambrosioides) is one of Mexico's defining culinary herbs — a pungent, aromatic annual with a distinctive smell sometimes described as petr… Epazote — identification and usage →
3
Discard the coarsely chopped onion, smashed garlic, and the first epazote sprig.
4
Add tomatoes, finely chopped onion, and finely chopped garlic. Cook at a steady simmer for 15 minutes.
5
If using dried shrimps, stir in the ground powder now and cook 2 minutes more.
6
Add the second sprig of epazote. Reduce heat to low.
7
Pour in beaten eggs in a slow stream, stirring gently until they just set — roughly 85°C (185°F). Do not boil.
8
Taste for salt and serve immediately.
III
Sensory Tests
◇Taste the broth before the eggs go in: it should read clean and lightly tart from the nopales with a quiet mineral salinity from the shrimp — if it tastes flat, the shrimp were not ground finely enough or rinsed of excess salt too aggressively, stripping flavour along with it.
◇Lift a nopal slice with a spoon after the recommended cooking time and let it hang for two seconds — it should hold its shape and show slight resistance at the centre; if it folds limply and releases a thick, viscous thread, it has overcooked and will turn the broth gluey.
◇Smell the pot immediately after the final epazote addition: a sharp, green, faintly anise-like fragrance should rise clearly above the tomato and shrimp notes — if you have to press your face close to detect it, add a few more leaves and serve within ninety seconds.
◇Where it lives or dies. The soup lives or dies at the moment the beaten eggs are added: the broth must be at a steady, active simmer — not a rolling boil that will shred them to rags, not a tepid rest that leaves them in pale, underset ribbons — poured in a slow, thin stream while you stir gently in one direction, producing soft, silky threads that hold their body throughout the bowl.
Pillar IV
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
V
What to Pour
The pairing
Bradley Vineyards Elkton Pinot Gris
Bradley Vineyards — Elkton Oregon · Elkton Oregon
Not yet stocked in Ontario
Wine
From Ontario
Nothing from Ontario holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VI
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
The working kitchen