Cool Down with Some Hot Soup: Recipe for Tortilla Soup

Meal Monday

It's getting pretty darn hot here in DC. The kind of hot that hits you in the face when you open the door and steals away your energy and your hunger. But once the A/C has done a little work on you, it's good to eat your vegetables and hydrate. What delivers those two things in one delicious package? Soup.

Here's a soup that is easy, brothy, flavorful, nutritious and good for the kids. The large number of accompaniments allows kids to tailor the meal to their taste and may bring some peace to the dinner table.

The recipe below is based on the Tortilla Soup with Chicken and Avocado in the Williams-Sonoma Soup Cookbook. I've tweaked it a little to reduce the dishes and turn it into a one-pot meal. Also added fresh tomatoes to brighten it up and suggest fire-roasted canned tomatoes to boost the flavor. Enjoy!

Easier Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 cup, plus 2 TB vegetable oil

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons fresh cilantro

1 cup canned diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted

2 whole fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/2 teaspoon group cumin

4 cups chicken stock

1 skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into strips

Salt and pepper

4 corn tortillas

1 dried chile, seeded

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced

1/4 cup monterey jack cheese

Fresh lime juice

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium or large saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, and the 2 teaspoons of cilantro and cook until just beginning to turn slightly brown.

2. Add the fresh tomatoes to the onion mixture and saute until the tomatoes begin to sweat, releasing their juices. Don't cook down too much -- you want to keep the liquid at this point. This should take about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.

3. Add the canned tomatoes to the same pan -- still off the heat.

4. Using a hand-held submersion blender, blend the tomatoes and onion mixture together until smoother. Won't be totally smooth, but puree it as best as you can. Tip: Tilt the pan so that you have a good volume on one side to puree.

5. Return the tomato and onion mixture to the heat (medium-high) and add the ground cumin. Cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened and darkened. This will be about 5 or 6 minutes.

6. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and stir in the broth. Cover partially and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the soup is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer until cooked through, about 10 minutes. The Williams-Sonoma recipe suggests only about 2-3 minutes after adding the chicken, but I find that the check absorbs more flavor, and the soup is a bit enhanced if you cook it on low heat for about 10 minutes. No matter what, be sure you check that the chicken is totally cooked through, without being rubbery.

7. When the chicken has cooked through, season it with salt and pepper.

8. Prepare the accompaniments: Slice the corn tortillas into strips and cook in a little vegetable oil. Watch carefully, and turn them quickly to get them toasty on all sides. This will only take a few seconds on each side. Organize the fried tortilla strips, lime juice, avocado, the cheese, and the dried chile on a place so they are easily reached by the kids and parents alike.

9. Ladle the soup into bowls, leaving lots of room for the toppings, and serve!

Note: I would imagine that tofu or chick peas would serve as excellent replacements for the chicken.

Photo by Gina Argentina via flickr

Comments

[Gina Argentina]

Hey I'm thrilled you used my photograph, but a link back to my actual flickr would have been cool, other than just posting my photo with no link.. Right underneath the photo, and not at the end of your actual post.

That or take it down:)

Thanks,

Gina Argentina