I usually like my food to be straightforward with me, with no hidden gimmicks or tricks up its sleeve. Yet I also love the surprise of the cheese thatās concealed just beneath the surface of one of my favorite soupsāhow each spoonful of broken little creamy bits and larger silken pieces melt in my mouth. The warm tomatoey broth in which those cheese nubs hide is slightly sweet, and it also includes some quintessential hot weather vegetables, including zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes. To me, it tastes like the essence of summer in a bowl.
The soup Iām talking about is my Sonoran-Style Potato, Cheese, and Tomato Soup, a take on caldo de queso. In the northern Mexican state of Sonora, beef and wheat are cooking staples, but so is cheese. And despite the fact that itās a dry and hot landscape (and getting hotter every year) soup like this one is enjoyed year-round.
Caldo de queso is traditionally made by simmering chunks of potato in a garlic- and onion-heavy broth, with lots of oregano and strips of roasted green chiles. Once the potatoes are supersoft, the queso fresco joins the party, along with just a splash of milk. The result is a comforting bowl of cheesy potato soup thatās lighter than a chowder or French onion soupābut richer than, say, a chicken and rice soup.
Letās talk about the star of the soup for a moment: queso fresco, which translates to āfresh cheese.ā Itās made from cowās milk and itās a perfect fit for this soup for a couple reasons. First, it can take a lot of heat without melting, so it becomes soft and tender instead of winding up as a mound of goopy cheese at the bottom of your bowl. Second, queso fresco is immensely creamy, which makes for an exceptionally rich texture. (Queso fresco is widely available in the U.S., but if you canāt find it, a very mild feta will also work.)
Where I diverge from the traditional soup is with the amount of vegetables I add. Alongside the potatoes, I simmer summer squash until itās tender, and at the end I add some cherry tomatoes for fresh, sweet little bursts of flavor and texture that contrast the creamy potatoes and cheese. Before all of that, however, I sautĆ© poblano peppers in the soup pot, which perfume the entire dish with their subtle warmth.
As for that splash of milk, I find that it acts as a flavor bridge between the bright vegetable broth and the rich queso fresco. When I was young, my mom would say that the soup becomes āa little fuller, more roundedā once the milk has been added.
I finish this potato soup with a generous amount of fresh oregano, so it stays bright and green. Just a smidgen of vinegar uplifts everything, too, but lemon juice works just as well. If youāre like my dad, youāll add a small shower of those little red pearl-like dried chiles called chiltepin. (Theyāre incredibly spicy and Iām a baby when it comes to heat, so I just add a little hot sauce sometimes.) But I usually just eat it as is, spoonful by spoonful, enjoying each surprise of those little pillows of creamy, silken cheese.
