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This is the archived version of the Milk Street website and is no longer up to date.

Please visit 177milkstreet.com to see the current website with all of the latest recipes!

Red Chili Soup with Mixed Mushrooms

6 Servings

45 minutes

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Mexican chileatole is a traditional soup thickened with masa (ground nixtamalized corn). Made with fresh green chilies, the dish is called chileatole verde; with dried red chilies, chileatole rojo. This version of chileatole rojo with mushrooms comes from Friend of Milk Street, Iliana de la Vega, Mexico City native and chef of El Naranjo restaurant in Austin, Texas. Dark, raisiny ancho chilies and spicy, smoky chipotles, plus onion, garlic and tomatoes charred in a pan on the stovetop and blended until smooth, form a base for a soup with seductively deep, rich and earthy flavors. Masa harina—masa in flour form—is the thickener; it’s sold in most supermarkets with the baking ingredients or in the international aisle. If masa harina is not available, corn tortillas torn into small pieces work, too, but be sure to use corn tortillas, not those made with a blend of corn and wheat flour.

6

Servings

Tip

Don’t use canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce. Chipotles sold in dried form are the correct variety for this recipe. Chilies labeled as “morita,” a type of chipotle, work well here. If using shiitake mushrooms, be sure to remove and discard the stems, as they’re fibrous and don’t soften during cooking.

45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2

    ancho chilies, stemmed, seeded and torn into a few pieces

  • 2

    chipotle chilies, stemmed, seeded and torn into a few pieces

Directions

Reviews
Colette S.
November 13, 2024
Plenty spicy for some
In my household we have varying tolerances to spiciness. With that in mind, I blended the soaked chiles with a cup of chicken broth without the other vegetables. I removed and reserved half of that and then followed the recipe, adjusting the final adjustment of broth. I served the reserved chile sauce at the table so those who needed more heat could stir some into their bowl.
Jennifer B.
January 28, 2023
Delicious!
Deceptively delicious soup. I used corn tortillas which gave it kind of a delicious gritty texture. The peppers were fantastic and it was just a great flavorful soupm
Heather S.

Dried chilis come in wildly different sizes. Weight measurements would be helpful.

John B.

Really liked this recipe with its rich flavors. Made it with torn corn tortillas. The masa was only sold in large 5lb bags so it made no sense to buy it. However, I needed to add some corn starch to thicken it up a bit (probably would not have been necessary with the masa). I will add that the spiciness was through the roof - and we eat really spicy food, Indian, Asian, Thai, in addition to Mexican. I know poblanos vary in spiciness and I assume that is true when roasted and dried. Perhaps we had a particularly spicy bunch in addition to the morita chilis we used. I would probably cut it by half next time.


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