So far, everytime I visit Joya de Ceren in Richmond, Omar has something new to show me. Today it was fresh watermelons from Mexico, they looked wonderful. I’ll return tomorrow and grab me one. A week ago he handed me a can of Doňa Lisa’s Sopa de Garrobo. With a price tag of $6.99 I thanked him and said, “Maybe next time, not today.” He shook his head and waved his hands and said, “Take it and try it, see what you think, maybe you’ll like it. It helps make you strong and virile!” Oh great, what am I going to do with that? I dunno, maybe something will pop up.
I wouldn’t accept the gift without a recipe. “If you give me a little recipe, I’ll make it.”

It’s dead simple and easy, here’s the recipe that Omar gave me.

Ingredients:
1 can o’ iguana sopa
Butter or Margarine (1 pat)
1 tomato (not too big)
1 white onion (I used 1/3)
1 green bell pepper (I forgot to get one, so used a jalapeňo, seeded and deveined)
garlic (1 clove, minced tight)
salt
Cut up the items real small, they won’t take too darned long to soften for the soup. Melt butter in sauce pan, add onion, garlic & chile pepper. Heat until onion gets translucent and add the tomato, jack heat a bit and simmer for a few minutes. I think I did about 5 minutes or so.
Add can of soup and simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes. There were a few really good lumps of brown iguana meat in there, cool!
At this point you’re ready to rumble, but I wanted a bit more. So, I cooked up a load of El Salvadorean long grain white rice and added a lump in the bowl first, then cover with soup. Mince fresh cilantro and you’re ready.
The tomato kinda took over, I wonder if tomato sauce or puree would be a better choice? I’m not sure what to say about the iguana meat, it certainly had a firm texture, a lot like rabbit. It was good, so good in fact that I had a second bowl. I have to say though, the addition of goodies afterwards is really the way to go. For the second bowl I added some dried Mexican oregano and it brought the desert right to your mouth, very nice indeed. Sliced radishes and a squeeze of lime would have made this sucker sing like a … really good singer. And most certainly not like the song of the humback whale, no sir.

So, to sum it all up, I really enjoyed my lunch today. Was it worth 7 dollars a can? For me? Probably not. But if it brings a little home to your heart from thousands of miles away? Absolutely. Thank you Omar, thank you very much.
Biggles