Sopa de Fideo
from https://www.foodandwine.com/

Chicken bouillon, tomato, onion, and toasted noodles give this Mexican soup extra umami. It is popular in Mexico, Spain, and parts of the Philippines.

Mexican noodle soup, or sopa de fideos, features short, thin pasta, called fideos, cooked in a flavorful tomato broth. Top Chef and Iron Chef alum Chef Claudette Zepeda leans on chicken bouillon to boost the umami in this quick-cooking soup. Toast the fideos, or broken thin spaghetti, before simmering them in the broth for an added touch of nuttiness.

If you can't find fideos, use broken pieces of angel hair pasta instead.

3 plum tomatoes, cored and quartered
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 large garlic cloves
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
8 cups vegetable broth or water, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces uncooked fideo pasta
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1 dried bay leaf
Kosher salt, to taste
1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco, divided
Mexican crema, fresh cilantro, sliced avocado, lime wedges, and warm tortillas, for serving

Process tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano, and 1/2 cup vegetable broth in a blender until smooth, about 1 minute. Set tomato mixture aside.

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium. Add pasta, and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in reserved tomato mixture; simmer, undisturbed, for 2 minutes. Add remaining 7 1/2 cups vegetable broth, and bring to a boil over medium-high. Stir in chicken bouillon and bay leaf. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until pasta is softened but not breaking apart, 3 to 4 minutes. Season soup to taste with salt.

Place 4 teaspoons queso fresco in the bottom of each serving bowl; ladle soup over cheese. Serve with crema, cilantro, avocado, limes, and warm tortillas.

Servings: 6