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Mexican Tomato Soup

A tomato-based soup with onions, peppers, tomatoes, corn, and seasonings, served with tortilla chips or toasted bread.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Tomato and olive are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,539 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Mexican Tomato Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the base

  1. Cut onion fine and fry lightly in a large saucepan with a bit of oil.

  2. Add vegetables, roughly in the order you find logical (ie, tomatoes don't take long, peppers can be there from the start).

  3. Add about ½ teaspoon salt, adjusting to taste.

  4. Cover the pot if it goes slowly.

Simmer and season

  1. Add tomato sauce and corn.

  2. Add salt and sugar to taste.

  3. Separate a small amount and try adding more salt.

Serve

  1. Serve with tortilla chips, or toasted bread if not available.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

462Calories
6 gProtein
29 gFat
50 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Vegetable1 tbsp (14g)120
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Corn1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Red Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Tomato + olivetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Tomato + corntop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,099 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  3. Tomato + peppertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,923 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Tomato + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  5. Onion + olivetop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together29,779 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Tomato sauce or purée
Forms the liquid base and carries the tomato flavour through the soup.
Onions
Build sweetness and savoury depth as they soften in the oil.
Red bell peppers
Add sweetness and a fresh, vegetal flavour as they soften.
Tomatoes
Add fresh acidity and body, breaking down quickly as they cook.
Sweet corn
Adds sweetness and a pop of texture to the soup.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (tomato, pepper, corn, olive, sugar):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Eggplantfits better
  3. Okrafits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against tomato, pepper, corn, olive, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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