Caldo de habas – broad bean soup with tomato and cactus

Ingredients for 4 portions

• 300 gDried broad beans, skinned and split
• 3Tomatoes, in chunks
• ½Yellow onion, in chunks
• 2 clovesGarlic
• ≈ 2 lWater
• 2 tbspRapeseed oil
• 300 gNopal (cactus paddle), cleaned
• 20 gCoriander, a few sprigs
• to tasteSalt

On the side

• 2Pasilla chiles
• 2Limes, in wedges
• 12Corn tortillas

Method

1. Pick over the beans, removing any dark ones or little stones, and rinse them.
2. Blend the tomatoes, onion and garlic with 250 ml of the water until smooth.
3. Heat the oil in a large pot over a medium heat, strain in the tomato sauce and let it fry for 5 minutes, stirring, until it darkens.
4. Add the beans and the rest of the water and bring to the boil. Simmer, partly covered, for about 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the beans are completely soft and starting to fall apart. Add hot water if the soup gets too thick.
5. Meanwhile, cut the cactus paddles into small squares.
6. Boil the cactus in salted water for 15 minutes, until olive green. Drain and rinse under cold water.
7. Toast the pasilla chillies for a few seconds per side in a hot, dry frying pan, remove the stems and seeds and crumble them. Cut the limes into wedges.
8. Add the cactus and coriander sprigs to the soup, season with salt and simmer for 10 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, warm the tortillas in a dry frying pan.
10. Serve the soup in deep bowls with the crumbled pasilla, lime wedges and the warm tortillas.

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