Soup Azteca By Chef Catherine Waithera
Try it at home with our Chef Delight Recipe “Sopa Azteca” brought to you by Chef Catherine Waithera and sponsored by Chefs Delight Awards
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 40gms of shredded chicken
- 2tbs of Azteca Adobo
- 3corn tortillas cut in stripes
- 20gms of fresh cheese
GARNISH
- 10gms finely chopped white onion
- A pinch of Corridor
- A pinch of dry red chili
- 2 slices of avocado
- Cream
METHOD OF PREPARATION
- Pour the chicken broth into a soup bowl.
- Add the chicken and adobo from AztecA’s “Chipotles en Adobo” sauce.
- Mix together and warm.
- Meanwhile, deep fry the corn tortillas and set aside.
- While the soup is hot add the fresh cheese, and corn tortillas.
- Garnish with onions, corridor lettuce, and dry chilies.
- Finish with a little cream and top up with avocado slices and serve with bread
Soup Served with bread
Meet Chef Catherine Waithera
Catherine’s journey of Mexican food started in Mexico City in a place called Satellite. She met her husband, Juan Carlos Escobar, in 1995 at Hardrock café, Backleys plaza, through a friend. The moment Juan set his eyes on her; they became inseparable. The first time he took her to Mexico in 1996, she met his family at a dinner in a local tacos place called TACO de SERAFIN in Satellite and the moment she tasted Al-pastor tacos, she told her husband that it would sell in Nairobi.
From her experiences in Mexico, she was ready to bring it to her people in Kenya. While it was tough to settle in Kenya, because of her kids, Catherine was happy to be home. She brought with her tomatillos seeds to make her favorite tomatillos Salsa. She had made up her mind to plant them and they performed so well that she harvested more than 50kgs of tomatillos. She decided to take them to the market to sell them, but nobody knew about them in Kenya and so they did not sell. She sold A half kg for 120KES and spent more on fuel than on the sale. She watched her tomatillos in her backyard, rotting every day. She became frustrated and disappointed. However, she did not give up on them. She took out the seeds from the rotten tomatillos and replanted them. She noticed that tomatillos needed a pollinator so she bought a beehive from Ngong Road Kenya Bees Farmers. In three months, the honey and tomatillos had matured.
She made tomatillo salsa with her mother-in-law’s recipe. She sourced other ingredients to make tomatillos and came up with a giveaway for her honey customers. She sold the honey and gave tomatillo salsa as a free package. She later posted on her WhatsApp pages and within 2 hours there were positive results. People began to respond to the tomatillo salsa and there the brand was born. She made regular red salsa, pineapple habanero salsa, and Chipotle salsa just like in Mexico, though she was not sure of the response.
Despite trying other dishes and getting negative feedback, Catherine has learned not to give up. After getting her research right, she sourced all the equipment needed and decided to join Kilimo Hai Organic farmers. She made salsas, tortillas, concha(a traditional Mexican sweet bread), barbacoa meat, and many other dishes. She prepared them from Wednesday to Friday and rented a table at 1000KES at the farmers market and sell the products on Saturdays. With her knowledge of farming, she grew chilies, tomatoes, garlic onions, and all other ingredients in her backyard. She then started to grow corn, beans, and potatoes from her Nakuru farm. She later got a space at Rosslyn Riviera mall where Azteca Foods Ltd was born. She gradually added more dishes to her menu.
Catherine’s dream is to take her knowledge to the hospitality courses in Nairobi, and lecture on the methods and recipes for preparing organic Mexican foods. Catherine’s story of purpose is an inspiration to many people in Kenya.
A Chefs Delight Awards Nominated Chef
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