Heart & Bowl: Celebrity chef serves up a surprising soup

Some chefs carefully guard their recipes, keeping their contents secret. But Iliana de la Vega, whose Oaxaca restaurant El Naranjo made her a well-known name in the cooking world, gives her recipes away gladly. She learned her trade by watching others work in the kitchen, and she doesn’t mind passing on the knowledge to other cooks.

De la Vega, who currently teaches at the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio, will be traveling to Brownsville in December to cook for the 75th anniversary fundraiser for the nonprofit nursing home, Mother of Perpetual Help. At the fundraiser, de la Vega will also show the audience how she prepares some of her well known dishes, from mole poblano to molotes con salsa verde. smooth.

The spectacle is sure to wow de la Vega’s audience. While de la Vega puts a tremendous amount of work into preparing the elaborate meal, her love for cooking shines through, making the tasks look more fun than laborious.

De la Vega is a self-taught cook. She spent years sampling food all over Mexico, then going into household kitchens to learn the techniques behind the flavors.

"I don’t like to be pretentious about food," de la Vega said. "I’m more like, ‘This is how I like to cook, so come on and try it!’ There’s no one answer when it comes to cooking."

On Halloween, de la Vega previewed some of the recipes that will be featured at the fundraiser for the fundraising committee. Phrases heard often were, "Can you believe this food? ... Mmmm ... This is the best tres leches cake I’ve ever had."

For more information about the fundraiser, call (956) 542-2407.

Below you’ll find the recipe for one of de la Vega’s signature dishes, pecan-chipotle soup. This surprising combination of flavors brings classic elements of Mexican cooking like tomatoes, chiles and garlic together with milk and pecans.

With Texas pecans in season and the weather beginning to cool, this is the perfect time to make this spicy soup.

Pecan-Chipotle Soup

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 large garlic clove, crushed

8 ounces (2 cups) shelled pecans

1 1/4-inch-thick slice of round country bread

4 large plum tomatoes, quartered

4 chipotle chilies in adobo, or to taste (available in most large supermarkets)

7 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Melt butter in oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add pecans, bread and garlic and cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn garlic and bread once, until garlic is fragrant and bread is golden.

Transfer half the pecan mixture, half the tomatoes, half the chilies and 1 1/2 cups milk to a blender. Purée until

Repeat with remaining pecan mixture, tomatoes, chilies and 1 1/2 cups milk.

Pour mixture back into pot, along with remaining milk, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer about 3 minutes. Garnish with pecans if desired. Serves six.

Adapted from Iliana de la Vega’s recipe, as it originally appeared in The New York Times.