History
Sopa de lima is one of the most representative dishes of Yucatecan cooking. It is a light turkey or chicken broth with oregano, clove and cumin, defined by the lima agria, a local citrus. No one knows who first made it, but the lima arrived in the Americas with the Spanish, so the soup, with its pre-Hispanic ingredients and a European fruit, is a product of the culinary mixing of the colony. It is served with strips of fried corn tortilla and habanero, as a lunch or supper dish. In Cancún, Lonchería El Pocito lists it on its chalkboard of Yucatecan home cooking.
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Common allergens: Gluten-free (corn)
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 600 g bone-in chicken or turkey pieces
- 2 litres water
- 1 white onion, half whole and half diced
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 3 cloves
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 3 Yucatán limas (or 2 limes and 1 small grapefruit), juiced, plus a few slices
- 6 corn tortillas, cut into strips
- Oil for frying
- Salt
- 1 habanero chile, chopped
Method
- Simmer the chicken or turkey with the water, half onion, garlic, oregano, cloves, cumin and 1 tsp salt for 45 minutes, then lift out the meat and strain the broth.
- Shred the meat and discard skin and bones.
- Fry the diced onion, green pepper and tomato in a little oil for 5 minutes until soft.
- Add the strained broth and shredded meat, bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
- Fry the tortilla strips in hot oil until crisp, then drain.
- Off the heat, stir in the lima juice and a few lima slices, and check the salt.
- Serve with the tortilla strips on top and habanero on the side.
Tip from the editors. Add the lima juice only at the end, off the heat; boiled, the citrus turns bitter.
Where to eat sopa de lima
Sopa de lima in Cancún
Lonchería El Pocito ★ 4.4
Lonchería El Pocito on Calle 31 Norte in Cancún is a chalkboard-menu lunch counter for Yucatecan queso relleno, papadzules, poc chuc and panuchos.
OrderQueso relleno in tomato broth, papadzules, and the black-bean and pork tamal.
Why locals goA lunch counter on Calle 31 Norte, off the hotel strip, where locals on their break read the chalkboard menu to see what is left.
TipClosed Tuesdays, and lunch crowds clear the chalkboard, so arrive early; it opened in 1988 as La Cabañita.
Sopa de lima in Mérida
La Chaya Maya ★ 4.4
La Chaya Maya on Santa Lucía in Mérida pours tortillas on a clay comal in the dining room and runs sopa de lima, poc chuc and panuchos seven days a week.
SignatureSopa de lima, Poc chuc, Papadzules, Cochinita pibil
La Tradición ★ 4.3
La Tradición on Calle 60 in Mérida runs chef David Cetina's Yucatecan recados, poc chuc and queso relleno from a family kitchen of two decades.
SignaturePoc chuc, Queso relleno, Sopa de lima
Los Almendros ★ 4.0
Los Almendros on Parque de la Mejorada in Mérida runs the Yucatecan canon since 1972, claiming credit for putting poc chuc on the city's restaurant maps.
SignaturePoc chuc, Papadzules, Queso relleno, Sopa de lima
Eladio's Centro ★ 4.0
Eladio's Centro on Calle 59 Mérida runs the Yucatecan free-botanas-with-drinks tradition, with live trova and a sprawling cantina dining room.
SignatureFree botanas with drinks, Sopa de lima, Cochinita pibil
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