Tortilla Soup

The weather has been crazy here in the Pacific Northwest. One day it will look like spring and the next it will be raining, or even snowing. I swear, its like Washington doesn't know what season it wants to be in. Lets just say I'm ready for summer.

Well, it has still been pretty chilly here so who wouldn't want a nice warm bowl of soup? I have never had tortilla soup before, but I thought this recipe looked simple enough for me to try it for the first time; and it was. Really I don't think it can get much easier. There are more complex tortilla soup recipes, but for my first time I wanted it to be easy. You can always add meat or other veggies for a more hearty soup. I will definitely be trying a different version of this delicious soup later. 

I wasn't sure how flavorful the soup would be. It didn't look like there were that many ingredients to me. Well after I played around with some red pepper flakes and cumin, the flavor was outstanding. With the crispy tortilla strips the textures all combined perfectly. The cookbook I used was not a "healthy" one, so I had to do a little switching up to make it a bit more waistline friendly. You are more than welcome to make your own tortillas, or just buy them from the store like lazy ol' me. The recipe originally asked for fried tortilla strips, but I was not up for that. My mom always baked tortillas in the oven when she made Tostadas for us, so I knew that baking the tortillas would result in nice crispy strips. It worked out nicely, and was easy. 

My camera settings went wacky here, sorry for the odd coloring :)

Tortilla Soup

Adapted from The Complete Mexican, South American, and Caribbean Cookbook

Ingredients:

4 corn tortillas, freshly made or a few days old

1 tablespoon vegetable oil *plus extra for frying (if desired)

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

14 ounce can plum tomatoes, drained

4 cups chicken stock

small bunch of cilantro

salt and ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Using a sharp knife, cut each tortilla into four or five strips, each measuring about 3/4 inch wide.
2. *If baking tortilla strips skip to step 3*. If frying: pour vegetable oil to a depth of 3/4 inch into a heavy frying pan. Heat until a small piece of tortilla, added to the oil, floats on the top and bubbles at the edges. Add a few tortilla strips to the hot oil and fry for a few minutes, until crisp and golden brown all over, turning them occasionally. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a double layer of paper towels. Repeat with remaining tortilla strips.
3. If baking: preheat oven to 400. Place tortilla strips on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 5 minute increments, turning each time until slightly golden brown and crispy.
4. Heat the 1 tablespoon oil in a large heavy pan. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula, until onion is soft and translucent. Do not let the garlic turn brown or it will give the soup a bitter taste.
5. Chop the tomatoes using a large sharp knife and add them to the onion mixture. Pour in the chicken stock and stir well. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes, until the liquid has reduced slightly.
6. Chop the cilantro. Add to the soup, reserving a little to use as a garnish. Season to taste.
7. Place a few of the crisp tortilla strips to the bottom of four warmed soup bowls. Ladle the soup on top. Sprinkle each portion with the reserved cilantro and serve.

Makes 4 servings