Sunny Zamar, U.S History
When we were little and the season began to change, my mom used to make us a staple.
Now, when October or November rolls around and the air gets crisp, there's nothing better than a hot bowl of sopa.
You start by putting a tablespoon of oil in a pan.
Then you can add ANY kind of pasta noodles. Traditionally, it is made with fideo noodles, but you can easily use macaroni noodles or alphabet noodles instead.
Make sure the oil gets hot enough to brown the pasta.
Once browned, add a can of tomato sauce right into the pan. I use store-bought, but some people blend whole tomatoes with onion, garlic, and water to make their own tomato sauce.
Fill the rest of the pan with water.
Fill the pan (with water) until it's almost 3/4 of the way full.
Add salt, garlic powder (or chicken bouillon powder) to taste.
Simmer on medium until the noodles are soft and cooked through. It should be a soup-like consistency.
As you cook it, you can add more water as needed if you didn't add enough to start.
When done, pour into a bowl, and you can either eat it plain, just like that (that is how I eat it), or you can add cheese, crema, sour cream, or even chili.
When I think of fall, sopa takes me back to my childhood when my mom used to make us sopa on the first chilly nights of the season.
