Roux

• Use an equal amount of masa as flour called for in the soup recipe. Brown it in a small amount of oil until golden and slowly whisk in some liquid from the soup, then add the mixture to the soup. As with any roux, you'll need to check the consistency of the soup to know if you need to add more. If the soup is still too liquid, prepare more roux with the masa and repeat the process of adding it to the soup.

Slurry

• Masa is difficult to make into a slurry, as it is no longer in flour form. An alternative would be to use masa harina, the flour made from masa, in a 1-to-1 substitution for wheat flour in a recipe, instead of using the masa dough itself. In addition, the flavor of the soup will differ with the addition of masa harina, the corn product that gives tortilla chips their distinctive taste. If you don't have fine-ground masa harina, regular masa harina will still thicken the soup, but will give a grittier texture.

Considerations

• You can use Mexican flavorings to echo the addition of masa. Add chili, cumin, coriander and chipotle to complement to the creamy texture of the potato. Instead of adding cream or milk to the soup, serve with a dollop of sour cream and chopped cilantro. The soup can also be served cold and accompanied by another masa-based food, tortillas.

Alternatives

• Use another gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour if you don't have masa. Arrowroot, potato starch flour and white rice flour all have mild flavors similar to masa and wheat flour and can be substituted in a 1-to-1 ratio for the flour a recipe calls for.