Sopas - a Filipino version of minestroni
Posted on | November 14, 2007 |
Sopas is one Filipino dish that can be good as snacks or a complete meal itself. Traditionally, it consists of boiling chicken or pork bones with salt and pepper. Once you get good tasting broth flavor, elbow macaroni is added which you cook till al dente. When the pasta is almost done, vegetables are added usually chopped carrots and cabbage. Once done, season with salt and pepper to taste and add a cup of milk to make it really creamy.
Now, me, I like to tweak my sopas and add whatever I can find in the fridge. When mushrooms are in season, there they go in my sopas. Sadly, I missed the mushroom season this year, when the mushrooms pop up from the ground near termites’ hill. That’s why these mushrooms are called Termitomyces sp. Otherwise, canned mushrooms will do. Or if I still have some dried shiitake, it goes into the pot as well. I also like to add dried herbs to my sopas -rosemary, basil, oregano and sometimes chili flakes. And the vegetables are not chopped to finely as I like my sopas chunky.
When do I make sopas? When the weather is cold or more often I have some nice bones left from deboning beef, pork chicken or turkey. Often when we roast chicken, we usually get the meat only and save the bones for making broth. Last month, I roasted turkey (with lots of lemongrass!) for my sister’s birthday. We carved the meat and I saved the bones for making sopas for dinner. It was really good.
(Added 18 Dec 2007: Want a truly Pinoy version? It’s here.)
To make sopas, you will need:
meat broth (chicken, beef, pork)
elbow macaroni
chopped vegetables (carrots, cabbage, mushroom, asparagus… anything goes!)
salt and pepper to taste
a cup of milk
1. Bring to boil the meat broth. I usually make the broth by boiling soup bones in water till the meat flavor comes out.
2. Add the elbow macaroni (other pasta shapes will do like farfalle, rigatoni and penne - but this would not really be a Filipino dish).Add dried herbs such as oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary).
3. The elbow macaroni is cooked till al dente. Just taste the macaroni a few minutes after boiling. When macaroni is almost done, added the chopped vegetables. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Turn off fire and add the milk.
Variations? You may add flaked chicken meat, ham or sausages for a more filling dish.
For more pasta dishes, join the gang at Presto Pasta Nights at Once Upon a Feast for a recap of this week’s pasta cooking around the world.
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6 Responses to “Sopas - a Filipino version of minestroni”
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November 15th, 2007 @ 10:47 pm
This sounds like a perfect dish for our current cold, damp and rainy weather. Thanks so much for coming back to Presto Pasta Night. Check back for the roundup tomorrow.
November 25th, 2007 @ 9:25 am
I have to say, that I could not agree with you in 100% regarding Sopas - a Filipino version of minestroni, but it’s just my opinion, which could be wrong
November 29th, 2007 @ 2:56 pm
heey. sopas roxxx
November 29th, 2007 @ 2:57 pm
i like sssssssssssssssssssssooooooooooooooooooooopppppppppppppppppaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssss
December 7th, 2007 @ 7:55 am
[...] have my own sopas version in which I’ve put a lot of herbs. But for an honest-to-goodness Filipino sopas, [...]
April 27th, 2008 @ 8:10 pm
Wow! I just came here from browsing the Presto Pasta Round-Ups. Very nice. I remember eating this in the Philippines when I visited there…
Now I must read your blog for other Filipino dishes. ^-^