Fideo (Vermicelli) Soup - Sopa de Fideo

As you all may notice, I write a lot about my family.  I was very blessed to grow up with awesome parents.  As we got older they became not only our parents but our friends as well.  Unfortunately, my Dad passed away April 28, 2010.  I was very lucky to spend his last two weeks by his side.    It is very hard to live without him.  That same year, my parents would have celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary. We used to talk everyday and getting his advice or simply his approval is something that I cannot seem to get used to being without. 

My Dad loved life, he made everyone laugh.  He had an incredible energy that people were naturally drawn to him.  He loved soups.  I remember one day I made sopa de lentejas (lentil soup) and as he was eating he said “ahh, I love soup, I can eat it every day".  So in his honor here are a couple of his favorites.  Sopa de fideo (vermicelli soup) and sopa de lentejas (lentil soup).

Sopa de Fideo

One box of vermicelli (yellow box) if you can't find it angel hair pasta will work but you will have to break it into little one and a half inch pieces)

1 large onion 

3-4 tomatoes depending how big they are

1 serrano pepper

2 garlic cloves

Bunch cilantro

1 quart chicken stock

1 slice American cheese

1 Tablespoon corn, vegetable or canola oil is fine

Salt to taste

Heat the oil in a 2 quart sauce pan.  Once the oil is hot add the box of the vermicelli and brown lightly.  You have continuously stir it around because you do not want it to burn.  Dice about half the onion and one diced garlic at the same time and brown it all together.  Now that it is brown turn off the heat and remove from the heated stove.  In a blender, add tomatoes, the other half of the onion, one garlic clove, a bunch cilantro, and a serrano pepper.  If you do not like the heat, you can remove the seeds.  I like the heat, so I add one half, taste, and if not too hot, I add the other half.   Blend until a liquid consistency, if you need to add a little water to help blend.
Add the contents of your blender to the vermicelli and top it off with chicken stock.  Add water until you get to about 2 inches from the rim.  Taste for salt and add to taste.  Bring to a simmer and cook until the vermicelli is tender.  Turn off the heat when the vermicelli is al dente, because the soup is hot, the vermicelli continues to cook and you do not want to overcook it because it becomes too starchy and you will need to add more liquid.  Once the heat is off, add a slice of American cheese.  Yes it seems unconventional but believe me, it thickens the soup just slightly.  It does not work with cheddar cheese because it doesn’t blend well and it does not look good. Cover your pot and let the cheese melt.  Once the cheese is melted, stir and serve.  Yummy!  If you want to convert it into a meal shred some chicken and add it to the pot before serving.   

I will add the lentil soup in another entry.