The original recipe comes from Quinta Brava in Oaxaca: http://www.quintabrava.com My spouse and I took a cooking class there and they gave us recipes to take home. Some of the original instructions have been open to interpretation, so what I’ve made here may not be the same as what they originally intended. Still, I made it for a friend’s birthday and the reviews were positive, so hopefully it’s not too bad of a cultural appropriations.

If you’re nervous about the amount of chili, you can reduce the number of chiles and make sure to remove all the seeds. When I made this with 10 chiles total, the chiles were present but not spicy since the seeds had been removed. If you like it spicier, feel free to leave some of the seeds in.

The “optional” ingredients below are ones that I added; they weren’t in the original recipe. The pumpkin puree gives the soup a little thickness, which can be good if you want to make it more of a main course. If you want something closer to the original recipe, however, you can simply avoid these options.

8-10 guajillo chiles
8 costeno chiles*
1 amarillo chili*
1 small or medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
pumpkin puree (optional)
1-2 roma tomatoes, diced (optional)
1 c. corn (optional)
Shredded turkey, chicken, beef, or pork (optional)
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tbsp. allspice
1 tsp. ground clove
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tbsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. thyme
1⁄4 cup apple cider vinegar
Epazote to taste
Broth (It’s up to you how much to use; I used a homemade turkey broth but you can probably choose whichever base you prefer.)
Salt to taste

Clean the chiles, remove the seeds (unless you want the extra spice), and chop into small pieces. Toast the chiles in a skillet until they release their scent. Set aside. 

Sauté the onion and garlic until nice and brown. Add the broth and chiles and boil for ten minutes. (Optional: use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients until smooth, then re-fry.)

Add the other ingredients and simmer until the chiles are tender and you are satisfied with the flavor.

*If you can’t find costeno or amarillo chiles, you can try substituting mulato and/or ancho chiles as I did.