Caldo Xóchitl

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 8-quart stockpot
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Cheesecloth or clean muslin for straining
• •Slotted spoon
• •Wide soup bowls or barro cazuelas for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the broth cold

   Place the chicken pieces, the carcass, and the feet if you have them in a large stockpot. Cover with cold water by three inches. Add the halved onion, the halved head of garlic, one sprig of epazote, the bay leaves, the peppercorns, and the salt. Set over medium heat and bring it up slowly. Caldo Xóchitl is a clear broth. Clarity is the whole point. You start cold so the proteins release slowly and the broth stays transparent.

   The chicken feet are not optional if you can find them. They give the broth body without weight. Ask the pollero at the mercado. He will have them in the back.
2. 2

   Skim and simmer

   As the broth approaches a simmer, a gray foam will rise to the surface. Skim it patiently with a spoon for the first fifteen minutes. Do not stir. Stirring breaks the foam and clouds the caldo. Once the foam stops rising, lower the heat until you see one lazy bubble every few seconds. Cover partially and cook for one hour and fifteen minutes. The chicken should be tender but not falling off the bone.

3. 3

   Cook the garbanzos separately

   If you are using dried garbanzos, drain the soaking water and place them in a small saucepan with fresh cold water and a pinch of salt. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, until tender but still holding their shape. Drain and set aside. If you are using canned, skip this and just rinse them well. Garbanzos cooked in the chicken broth will cloud it. Cook them apart. La cocina no es decoración, es trabajo.

4. 4

   Strain the broth

   Lift the chicken pieces out of the pot with a slotted spoon and set them aside to cool. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve lined with a damp cheesecloth or muslin cloth into a clean pot. Discard the solids. What you should see now is a pale golden liquid you can read a newspaper through. That is the Xóchitl. If it is cloudy, you stirred too much or you let it boil. Next time you will know.

   If your broth came out cloudy, you can clarify it with a beaten egg white whisked into the cold broth and brought back to a bare simmer. It is a salvage move, not a routine. The fix starts with not boiling it in the first place.
5. 5

   Shred the chicken

   Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, pull the meat off the bones in generous pieces. Discard the skin and the bones. You want shreds you can recognize, not a fine mince. Caldo Xóchitl is a soup of visible parts. Each spoonful should hold a few things at once. Set the shredded chicken aside.

6. 6

   Cook the rice and carrots

   Return the strained broth to a gentle simmer. Add the rice and the carrots. Cook uncovered for 12 minutes, until the rice is just tender and the carrots have a little bite left. Add the calabacitas and cook for 5 minutes more. The vegetables should be cooked through but still hold their shape. Mushy vegetables ruin the soup.

7. 7

   Finish with the chicken, garbanzos, and flor

   Stir in the shredded chicken and the cooked garbanzos. Tear the second sprig of epazote and drop it in. Taste for salt now. The broth will need more than you think. A bland Xóchitl is a sad Xóchitl. Pull the leaves off the squash blossoms, tear them in half if they are large, and stir them in at the very end. Turn off the heat. The blossoms wilt in thirty seconds in the hot broth. Cook them any longer and they turn to slime.

8. 8

   Serve at the table

   Ladle the caldo into wide bowls, making sure each one gets chicken, garbanzos, rice, calabacitas, and a generous handful of squash blossoms. Pass the diced avocado, diced raw white onion, lime wedges, sliced serrano, and warm tortillas at the table. Each diner finishes their own bowl. The avocado goes in last because it should be cool against the hot broth. Así se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •The squash blossoms are the dish. If you cannot find flor de calabaza fresh and bright, do not make this caldo today. Frozen blossoms are a compromise, not an upgrade. They release water and dull the broth. Wait for the season or make a different soup.
• •Buy a whole chicken, not just breasts. The carcass, the wings, the back, the feet, all of these give the broth body. Boneless skinless chicken breast makes a thin, sad caldo. Do not do that to yourself.
• •Cook the rice and the garbanzos with restraint. Both will keep absorbing broth as the soup sits. If you ladle out a bowl and come back to the pot an hour later, you will find a porridge. Serve the caldo the moment it is finished, or hold the rice and garbanzos apart and add them per bowl.

Advance Preparation

• •The chicken broth can be made one day ahead, strained, and refrigerated. The fat will rise and solidify on top, which makes it easy to lift off before reheating if you want a leaner caldo.
• •Do not add the squash blossoms until the moment of serving. They cannot be made ahead. They wilt, dull, and turn slimy if held in hot broth for more than a few minutes.
• •The garbanzos can be cooked two days ahead and refrigerated in a little of their cooking liquid.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 450g)