Tortilla Soup
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Tortilla soup encompasses all the things I love best in Mexican cooking. Do you like salsa? avocado? cilantro? fresh hot tortilla chips? Tortilla soup is like a soup version of my favorite enchilada, with chicken, and tortilla chips. And avocado. I found the source of the following recipe at the website of Muir Glen, makers of organic canned tomatoes. They make a particularly good "fire-roasted" canned tomato, which is well suited to Mexican dishes.
Tortilla Soup Recipe
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Ingredients
- 6 (6-inch) corn tortillas, preferably a little old and dried out
- 1/4 cup grapeseed oil, peanut oil, other high smoke-point oil
- 1 small onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 medium Anaheim, poblano or jalapeño chile, seeded, veins removed, chopped (Depending on the hotness and flavor desired. You can also mix chiles - 1 Anaheim and a half jalapeño.)
- 4 cups chicken broth or homemade chicken stock
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained (recommended Muir Glen fire-roasted)
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1 ripe medium avocado
- 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (2 oz) (or other mild, melting cheese)
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
Method
1 If you are starting with somewhat old, dried out tortillas, great. If not and you are starting with relatively fresh tortillas, put them on a baking sheet and put them in the oven at 200°F for 10-15 minutes to dry them out a bit. It is best to start with tortillas that don't have a lot of moisture in them. Cut tortillas in half; cut halves into 1/4-inch strips. In 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Fry strips in oil, 1/3 at a time, until light brown and crisp. Remove from pan; drain on paper towels. Reserve.
2 Heat oil remaining in saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook onion in oil 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and chile; cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in broth, tomatoes and salt. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add chicken; heat until hot.
3 To serve, peel and pit the avocado. Cut into 1-inch slices. Divide half of tortilla strips among 4 individual serving bowls; ladle in soup. Top with avocado and cheese; garnish with remaining tortilla strips and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.
Serves 4.
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Living in San Antonio, I can assure you that there are as many Tortilla Soup recipes as there are little, old ladies making it!
Some of the ones I've eaten included corn, summer squashes, beans, etc. (in addition to the ingredients listed above) in various combinations. Some are tomato-based, and some are chicken-stock based.
All of them are luscious!
A friend of mine says she cleans out the fridge when she makes it! ;) Now that is authentic!
My only suggestion would be to NOT substitute flour tortillas for the corn tortillas.