(Photo: Ren Fuller). Ren Fuller
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As Karla Tatiana Vasquez says in her book, The SalviSoul Cookbook, soup is an event in the Salvadoran household, “a reason to call the family and have a get-together,” and everyone has their own favorite sopa. Unlike American chicken soup, in this dish the chicken is removed after boiling, basted in a flavorful sauce, and grilled. It’s then carved and served alongside the soup, accompanied by plenty of rice, tortillas, and a green salad. Though sopa de gallina is traditionally made with an older hen (gallina), which gives it a much stronger flavor, this adapted recipe uses chicken, resulting in a subtle, restorative dish that makes any day worthy of celebration.
Adapted from The SalviSoul Cookbook: Salvadoran Recipes and the Women Who Preserve Them by Karla Tatiana Vasquez. Copyright © 2024. Available from Ten Speed Press.
Featured in “This Salvadoran Cookbook Is Making History” by Jessica Carbone.
Yield: 4–6 Time: 1 hour 30 minutes One 4–5 lb. whole chicken or gallina (hen) 1 Tbsp. kosher salt, plus more 6 garlic cloves, peeled 3 bay leaves
