Hispanic Heritage · El Salvador

El Oriente

San Miguel · Chinameca · Usulután · Santiago de María · Jiquilisco · Berlín

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Sopa de pata

Descubre

Eastern El Salvador’s sopa de pata brings a long-simmered broth together with vegetables, herbs, and the richness of beef feet and tripe. It is a different pace of cooking from the quick meals of a griddle.

La Gente

This recipe rewards preparation and time. Cleaning, simmering, and adding vegetables in stages each have a purpose. Lime at the table brightens the finished bowl and lets the broth’s savory depth remain the focus.

Sabor

The east cooks in achiote, oregano, and the herbs of the yard, with cumin and garlic underneath and the Gulf's salt on top. It is richer and a little bolder than the center, with the lime and chile always on the table and the mayonnaise on the pupusas as the province's standing argument.

Spice DNA · Herb medium · Acid medium · Smoke low · Heat low · Sweet low

Seasonings to explore

Minced Garlic in Olive Oil. In the broth from the first boil. Adds a savory garlic base.
Sazón with Coriander and Annatto. For the achiote, which colors every Salvadoran soup.
Oregano, whole. In the sopa de pata, always.
Cumin, ground. A pinch in the broth.
Black Pepper, ground. In the broth.
Bay leaves, whole. In the pot. The Salvadoran relajo spice mix uses it.
Cilantro flakes. For the herb bundle when the fresh is gone.
Onion Powder. With the fresh onion.

From your market: cow's feet (any Latin market, split), honeycomb tripe, yuca, corn on the cob, chayote, green plantain, cabbage, carrot, green beans, tomatoes, an onion, a green pepper, fresh cilantro and culantro, and limes. Badia does not sell the pipián squash. Zucchini stands in, and the east will let it pass.

Cocina

Sopa de pata

Cow's foot and tripe in an achiote broth with the vegetables of the isthmus. Start Saturday night. Serve Sunday at noon, with onion, lime, and chile on the table.

Serves 8

3 lb cow's feet, split
1 lb honeycomb tripe, cleaned and cut in pieces
Limes and salt for cleaning
14 cups water
2 tbsp Badia Minced Garlic in Olive Oil, or 6 garlic cloves crushed
1 onion, quartered
1 green pepper, halved
2 tsp Badia Sazón with Coriander and Annatto
2 Badia Bay Leaves, whole
1 tsp Badia Oregano, whole
½ tsp Badia Cumin, ground
½ tsp Badia Black Pepper, ground
½ tsp Badia Onion Powder
4 tomatoes, blended and strained
1 lb yuca, peeled and cut in chunks
3 ears of corn, cut in rounds
2 chayotes, peeled and quartered
2 pipianes or zucchini, in chunks
2 carrots, in chunks
1 cup green beans, trimmed
¼ cabbage, in wedges
2 green plantains, 1 in chunks and 1 blended with a cup of broth to thicken
Salt
A bunch of cilantro and culantro, tied
To serve: chopped onion, limes, chile, warm tortillas

Clean the feet. Rub them with lime and salt, let them sit 15 minutes, and rinse. Blanch them in boiling water 5 minutes and drain. Repeat if they still smell of anything but clean meat.
The long boil. Put the feet in a large pot with the water, garlic, onion, green pepper, sazón, bay leaves, oregano, cumin, pepper, and onion powder. Bring to a boil, skim, and simmer 2½ to 3 hours, until the cartilage is soft and the broth has body. A pressure cooker does this in an hour, and most Salvadoran kitchens now own one for exactly this soup.
The tripe. Add the tripe and simmer 1 hour more, until tender.
Tomato. Stir in the strained tomato. Simmer 10 minutes.
The vegetables. Yuca, corn, chayote, and carrot first, 20 minutes. Then pipián, green beans, cabbage, and the plantain chunks, 15 minutes more, until everything is tender. Stir in the blended plantain to thicken. Salt.
The herbs. Drop in the tied bunch for the last 5 minutes and lift it out before serving.
Serve. A piece of foot, some tripe, and a little of every vegetable in each deep bowl, broth over all of it. Onion, lime, and chile on the table. Con cebollita, por favor.

Pueblos del Oriente

San Miguel · Chinameca · Usulután · Santiago de María · Jiquilisco · Berlín · La Unión · Conchagua · Santa Rosa de Lima · San Francisco Gotera · Perquín · Cacaopera · Corinto · San Alejo · Chirilagua · El Cuco