Sopa de Fideos con Salchichón

2025 greeted me with a pretty bad cold. I spent several days bedbound with hot tea and honey, lozenges and a lot of cough medicine scrolling through social media until my eyes got blurred. I needed relief and I certainly wasn’t getting it from TikTok. Whenever I get sick, I seek out comfort and when I was young, comfort to me was sitting criss-cross applesauce with my cousins on the shaggy rug in my grandmother’s living room in the Dominican Republic. There, she sat in her wooden rocking chair with a small pot and ladle in her hand, spoon-feeding us soup for dinner. The soup was called Sopa de Fideos.

Her version included salchichón (aka farmer’s sausage), corn on the cob, and, of course, fideos (aka fidellini). Whether I was sick or not, this soup never failed to lift my spirits. 

With this thought in mind, I was suddenly very grateful for contact-free delivery. From the depths of my blanket cave, I ordered everything I needed to make the soup for myself. 

I ordered these ingredients from Tony’s Fresh Market, which is primarily a Hispanic grocery store. I would recommend this store (or any local Hispanic store) for the main items, as they can be harder to find at standard stores.

A few things to note:

• The sofrito I am referring to in this recipe is a green sofrito (a mix onions, peppers, garlic and fresh herbs). You can find this in the prepared goods section of the store, usually packed into delis. 
• Salchichón is a Spanish summer sausage or farmer’s sausage that is typically dried and smoked. It brings the rich, salty and savory flavor to the dish. That being said, start with the written amount of salt and then add more to taste after bringing the soup to a boil.

• Sazón and adobo are staples in Hispanic cooking. Sazón is a versatile blend of spices, often described as citrusy, including garlic, cumin and coriander. It’s a great counterpoint to the garlicky and herbaceous notes of adobo, which typically includes salt, granulated garlic, turmeric and oregano.

• Fideos (or fidellini) take me back. It’s the equivalent of alphabet soup for some people. It also tends to only be at Hispanic grocery stores but can be substituted for spaghetti or your favorite soup noodle. 

Sopa de Fideos con Salchichón 

Serves 4-6 people 

Prep time: 30 minutes 

Cook time: 30 minutes 

Total time: 1 hour 

2 Tablespoons of neutral olive oil

1 salchichón (8 oz), outer skin removed and slice into 1/4” thick quarters 

1 medium onion, small dice

3 cloves of garlic, minced 

1 envelope of sazón

2 teaspoons adobo 

1 teaspoon bouillon powder (or 1 bouillon cube) 

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoon salt, plus more if needed

3 yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes

1/4 cup sofrito

1/4 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup chopped Spanish olives with pimentos

3 ears of corn, shucked and cut into thirds 

7 oz bag of fideos 

8-10 cups of water (depending on how brothy you’d like it) 

1/4 cup of cilantro, roughly chopped 

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the salami until it is lightly caramelized. About 3-4 minutes. 

2. Add the onions and sauté until caramelized. Another 3-4 minutes. 

3. Stir in the garlic and all of the seasonings and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. 

4. Stir in the potatoes, sofrito, tomato sauce, olives and corn. Stir to combine.

5. Add the water and bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are 90% cooked through.

6. Stir in the fideos and simmer for another 10 minutes. The potatoes should be fork-tender at this point.

7. Stir in the chopped parsley and serve. 

If you enjoyed traveling back to my childhood in the Dominican Republic, consider taking a trip with Chef Nina to Southeast Asia and learn to make Burmese Street Food: Samosa Thoke or fly off to South America with Chef Trevor to experience Camarão na Moranga: Shrimp in Pumpkin, a delicious Brazilian dish. 

Wherever you go, I hope you can find your own form of comfort when tackling your next recipe. Here are some upcoming cooking classes to expand your horizons:

• Hands-On Spanish Tapas Saturday, January 11 6pm
• Hands-On Global Soups and Stews Tuesday, January 14 6pm
• Hands-On Japanese Homestyle Cooking Thursday, January 23 6pm
• Hands-On Night in Spain Saturday, February 1 6pm
• Hands-On The Peruvian Plate Thursday, February 6 6pm

Yield: 4-6

Author: Elexis Ruiz

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Sopa de Fideos con Salchichón

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons of neutral olive oil
• 1 salchichón (8 oz), outer skin removed and slice into 1/4” thick quarters
• 1 medium onion, small dice
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 envelope of sazón
• 2 teaspoons adobo
• 1 teaspoon bouillon powder (or 1 bouillon cube)
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoon salt, plus more if needed
• 3 yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes
• 1/4 cup sofrito
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup chopped Spanish olives with pimentos
• 3 ears of corn, shucked and cut into thirds
• 7 oz bag of fideos
• 8-10 cups of water (depending on how brothy you’d like it)

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat. Sauté the salami until it is lightly caramelized. About 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the onions and sauté until caramelized. Another 3-4 minutes.
3. Stir in the garlic and all of the seasonings and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
4. Stir in the potatoes, sofrito, tomato sauce, olives and corn. Stir to combine.
5. Add the water and bring to a boil before reducing to a simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are 90% cooked through.
6. Stir in the fideos and simmer for another 10 minutes. The potatoes should be fork-tender at this point.
7. Stir in the chopped parsley and serve.

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