Sopa de fideo seco con chipotle (smoky dry noodle soup)

Ingredients

• 300 g fideos, thin nest-style or straight; dry
• 3 tbsp neutral oil, e.g. sunflower or vegetable
• For the chipotle-tomato sauce
• 400 g ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped, or one 400 g tin whole tomatoes
• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo, plus 1 tbsp of their adobo sauce; use 1 chile for smokiness, up to 3 for heat-forward
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 white onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 375 ml water or light chicken stock
• 1 tsp fine salt, adjust to taste
• To garnish
• 100 ml crema, Mexican-style; crème fraîche is an acceptable substitute
• 80 g queso fresco, crumbled
• 1 small bunch epazote, leaves picked; fresh only

Method

1. 1
   Blend the tomatoes, chipotle chiles, adobo sauce, tomato paste, onion, and garlic to a smooth purée. Season with salt. The sauce should be deeply red, lightly rust-coloured from the chipotle, and fluid enough to pour freely.
2. 2
   Heat the oil in a wide, heavy-based pan over medium-high heat. Add the dry fideos and toast, stirring constantly, until every strand is uniformly deep golden — not pale, not dark brown. The pan will smell of toasted wheat. This is where the dish lives or dies: an under-toasted fideo will taste starchy and flat; a scorched one will turn bitter throughout.
3. 3
   Pour the chipotle-tomato purée into the pan over the toasted fideos — it will sputter. Stir once to coat all the noodles. Add the water or stock. The liquid should just cover the fideos; the surface will be vivid brick-red. Taste and correct the salt.
4. 4
   Reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan tightly and cook undisturbed, allowing the fideos to absorb the sauce. After 10–12 minutes, lift the lid: the surface should appear dry and set, with no pooling liquid visible, and the fideos should have swollen and separated from one another.
5. 5
   Remove the lid and press a spoon gently against the fideos at the centre of the pan — they should feel tender with a very slight resistance, not crunchy, not mushy. The bottom may have a thin, lightly crisped layer; this is correct and desirable. If the top fideos remain firm, replace the lid for a further 2–3 minutes.
6. 6
   Serve directly from the pan or spoon into warm bowls. Finish each portion with crema drizzled over the surface, a scattering of crumbled queso fresco, and a few fresh epazote leaves placed on top.