Chimole

Ingredients

Soup

• 1.5 kgchicken, in pieces
• 4 tbsprecado negro
• 2 litreswater
• 1onion, chopped
• 4 clovesgarlic
• 2tomatoes, chopped
• 1sweet pepper, chopped
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1 tspground cumin
• 2bay leaves
• 2 tbspoil
• salt and black pepper

Dumplings and egg

• 250 gmasa harina
• ½ tspsalt
• water
• 4eggs, hard-boiled and halved

To serve

• corn tortillas
• lime wedges

Directions

1. Dissolve the recado negro in a cup of hot water, mashing it against the side of the cup until no lumps remain at all.
2. Recado negro is made from chillies deliberately burnt until they are charcoal-black, and it is bitter, smoky and jet black. Undissolved it leaves gritty black specks through the soup instead of colouring it evenly.
3. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, oregano and cumin.
4. Brown the chicken in the oil, then add the onion, garlic, tomato and sweet pepper and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the water, the dissolved recado and the bay leaves, and simmer for 40 minutes until the chicken is tender.
6. Mix the masa harina with the salt and enough water to make a firm dough, roll it into small balls, and drop them in for the last 15 minutes.
7. Add the halved boiled eggs for the final 5 minutes, so they take on the colour of the broth.
8. The soup should be genuinely black rather than brown. If yours has come out brown the recado was under-measured, and it is used far more heavily than seems reasonable.
9. Serve with warm corn tortillas and a wedge of lime.

Technique

• It is called the black dinner locally, and the colour is the whole identity of the dish.
• Recado negro is a Yucatec Maya seasoning, used across northern Belize where the Maya and mestizo communities overlap.
• The burnt-chilli bitterness is deliberate and it needs the lime at the table to balance it.

Substitutions

• Recado negro is sold in solid blocks in Belizean and Mexican shops, and there is no genuine substitute for it.
• Turkey in place of chicken, which is the Yucatecan relleno negro.

Variations

• With pork instead of chicken.
• Without the eggs, which is common on weekdays.
• Relleno negro, the Yucatecan relative, made with stuffed turkey.

History

Black soup coloured by recado negro, a paste of chiles burnt until charcoal-black, a Yucatec Maya seasoning also used in Belize’s north.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chimole?

Chimole is a soup & stew from Belize: black recado chicken soup, the ‘black dinner’. Black soup coloured by recado negro, a paste of chiles burnt until charcoal-black, a Yucatec Maya seasoning also used in Belize’s north.

How long does Chimole take to make?

Chimole takes 20 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Chimole?

Yes, within limits. Recado negro is sold in solid blocks in Belizean and Mexican shops, and there is no genuine substitute for it. Turkey in place of chicken, which is the Yucatecan relleno negro.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chimole?

Recado negro is made from chillies deliberately burnt until they are charcoal-black, and it is bitter, smoky and jet black. Undissolved it leaves gritty black specks through the soup instead of colouring it evenly.