A canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce lends a smoky heat to rich caldo Tlalpeno,
made with leftover Thanksgiving turkey instead of chicken.
Around here, there’s never a question about what to do with the leftover Thanksgiving turkey.
I always make turkey soup, usually with rice and vegetables. But on Sunday, I was still dreaming of the caldo Tlalpeno I’d tasted a week earlier at the Fajita Taco Place in San Antonio. The Place is the proverbial hole in the wall in a strip center on McCullough Avenue, next to a tanning salon—or was it nail salon? But inside. the cafe was tidy and the aromas wafting from the kitchen were irresistible.
When we asked about soup—basic beef or chicken were on the menu—the waiter disappeared. He returned with a small laminated card describing three more offerings, among them tortilla soup and caldo Tlalpeno. When the caldo arrived ten minutes later, tantalizing wisps of steam wafted across the table. It was a one-bowl feast: lots of shredded chicken, chunks of potato and carrots, garbanzos and a little rice. There was cilantro and sliced avocado and lime to squeeze over it all.
But it was the rich chipotle-flavored broth that really won me over. A dark red chile floated on top, gilding the surface a deep golden orange, infusing the soup with its luscious smoky flavor and not-so-gentle fire. I was smitten.
So last Sunday, I decided to turn the turkey into caldo Tlalpeno. According to the Mexican cookbook writer Diana Kennedy, the soup is named after Tlalpan, a suburb of Mexico City, a “favorite place for a Sunday outing to eat barbacoa or carnitas.” In The Cuisines of Mexico, Kennedy suggests that the soup was “probably first served at the stands along the highway and dispensed with the barbequed meats, or perhaps in the pulquerias [bars serving pulque, a potent brew from the fermented juice of the maguey] where many a new antojito or broth has been born.”
Personally I vote for the latter theory: it would make a great hangover cure. Usually caldo Tlalpeno is composed of chicken broth to which shredded chicken, chipotles and vegetables are added. Kennedy’s recipe calls for green beans and tomatoes, and other variations include squash. But I decided to leave all that out and recreate the hearty soup I had in San Antonio, using potatoes, carrots, chickpeas, and rice with lots of avocado, cilantro and lime—and of course, the leftover turkey. I followed the lead of the Fajita Taco Place cook and used canned chipotles in adobo sauce, instead of dried ones.
Of course, you must begin with a flavorful broth and this is where the turkey really shines. Turkey makes the best broth I have ever tasted, so good that I always wonder why I use chicken broth the rest of the year. On Sunday morning, I striped what was left of the meat off the carcass and simmered the bones in water with garlic and celery for over three hours, until it was deeply, richly, superbly flavorful. (The dog lay by the stove, whining, the entire afternoon.) After that, it was quick work to add the other ingredients.
But if you can make the soup ahead of time, even the day before you want to serve it, so that the chipotle infuses the broth overnight, it will be even more delicious. Like so many things, it improves with a little age.
Caldo Tlalpeno with Turkey, Chipotle Chiles, Avocado and Lime
Serves 6
Ingredients for the broth:
1 cooked turkey carcass
1 half head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 peppercorns
Method for the broth:
1. Strip the remaining meat, skin and fat off the carcass. Discard the skin and the fat. Shred the meat and reserve it for the soup.
2. Put the turkey bones in a large stockpot with water to cover by about one inch. Add the garlic, celery and peppercorns. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce and simmer for three hours or until the broth has been reduced to 12 cups. Skim the froth off the soup as needed.
3. Strain the broth into one or two large bowls. If not using right away, refrigerate overnight.
Ingredients for the soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 cups thinly sliced yellow onion
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
8 or 9 cups turkey broth
1 large potato, peeled and boiled until tender, cut into 6 chunks
2 or 3 cups of reserved turkey meat, shredded
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo (see note)
1/2 cup chickpeas
1 cup cooked rice
Salt to taste
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
2 limes, cut into quarters
Method for the soup:
1. In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the carrot chunks and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes more.
2. Pour in the turkey broth and heat until it simmers gently. Add the chipotles and simmer for 6 to 7 minutes, until the carrot is fairly tender. Add the shredded turkey meat, the potato, the chickpeas and the rice. Simmer for 5 minutes more. Taste and add salt if desired.
3. Before serving, bring the soup back to a gentle simmer. Remove the chipotles and cut each into 4 pieces. Ladle the soup into individual bowls and garnish with avocado slices, chopped cilantro and a piece of chipotle. Serve with lime on the side.
Note: Canned chipotles in adobo are available in the international section of many supermarkets and in Hispanic grocery stores. Or order them from Gourmet Sleuth.