Kak'ik Soup

Pic courtesy of the Antigua Daily Photo

Looking for a delicious and different type of soup for your international dinner?  Look no further.  I've got one for you that is tasty and a hit for many people.  It's a type of Mayan turkey soup that fills you up with a smile.  I accidentally came upon it in a restaurant in Antigua, Guatemala.  It was so good that I had it several times more while in the country.  If you like turkey, or soup, or cilantro, or avocado, you'll love Kak'ik!!!  It sounds Klingon, but it's actually 100% Mayan.  Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:
A small turkey (approx. 3 pounds)
1 pound of tomato
Two fresh sweet red peppers
1 dried chile guaque (You can find them in Guatemalan or Mexican stores.)
1 dried chile pasa ((You can find them in Guatemalan or Mexican stores.)
Chopped Chile cobanero (dried hot red pepper)
2 onions (approx. 10 ounces)
2 garlic heads (including dried tails)
Salt
Chicken base
Fresh Cilantro
Fresh peppermint

Instructions:
Cook the turkey and the garlic heads and tails, in a large pot of water, add salt and chicken base to taste.

In a separate pan, cook tomato, onion, sweet red pepper, chile pasa, and chile guaque. (Do NOT add salt.) Once fully cooked, combine in blender. (You may puree, or leave partial vegetable chunks)

Once the turkey is cooked, add the vegetable mix to the stew. Add chopped cilantro and peppermint.
Bring to boil for about ten minutes.

Serve when cooled.
Makes about 12 servings.

To get the original Kekchi taste, you could add some dried chopped cobanero pepper to each dish, (remember, that will spice it up quite a bit!). Some may be tempted to add potatos, güisquil or other “filler” vegetables. Don’t. This recipe follows the ancient Mayan way of making Kak’ik. Source: The Guatemalan Gringo