Chicken Tortilla Soup
I am often inspired by recipes posted on the blogs I subscribe to but I don't always follow them. Not because I don't think they're probably great but because, in spite of TRYING to be organized, I'm not always successful.
Sometimes my tummy wants something and won't shut up until it gets what it wants.
Therefore, when it started chanting 'tortilla soup, tortilla soup' on Sunday, and I had already been shopping on Saturday, I had to make do with what was available in the house.
No corn tortillas ... well there were some jalapeno flavoured tostadas in my pantry. (Only 4 it turned out. Oh well.)
No fresh tomatoes ... well there were 3 containers, each holding 1 cup of diced tomatoes in the freezer.
No cheddar cheese or queso fresco ... paneer cheese was available.
See what I mean? :)
Here's what I ended up with starting with Eva's recipe. My picture is nowhere near as pretty but I ate two bowls after I made the soup because it was just that good. There was a lot of depth of flavour from the dried chiles and amazingly enough, the tostadas disappeared after about 15-20 min of simmering and thickened the soup. I liked the pureed texture of the tomatoes but you can add the diced tomatoes along with the chicken broth.
PICTURE GONE - I'll have to remake this and repost one.
Chicken Tortilla Soup (serves 4-6)
2 ancho chiles, stem removed and seeded (or 1 ancho and 1 guajillo)
1 onion, medium, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tomatoes, quartered, hard core removed (or 2 cups diced canned tomatoes with liquid)
1 tbsp diced jalapeno pepper (optional)
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
4 corn tortillas, torn into 1-2" chunks or tostadas, broken into pieces
4 cups of chicken or turkey broth
1/2 cup cilantro (optional for us cilantro haters)
1 cup shredded or cubed leftover chicken or turkey meat
1/2 green pepper, seeded and finely diced
Optional garnishes: shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese, queso fresco (fresh farmers or curd cheese or paneer), sour cream, diced avocado, squeeze of lime juice per bowl, corn tortillas cut into 1/4" strips and deep fried until crisp, torn cilantro, green onions
Break up the chiles and soak in 1 cup of hot to boiling water for about half an hour. Squeeze out the liquid and reserve
In a blender, puree the rehydrated chiles, onion, garlic, tomatoes and jalapeno pepper, using only as much liquid as required to puree the contents, from the chile soaking liquid or the canned tomatoes.
In a dutch oven or large pot, saute the cumin, chili and garlic powder at medium-high heat until the oil starts to bubble up. Add the pureed vegetables and salt and fry for a few minutes.
Add the reserved liquid from the chiles, tomatoes and the chicken broth and bring to the boil.
Add the torn tortillas and green pepper, cover and simmer for about half an hour.
Serve with preferred garnishes..
Ideas for future modifications to be added before simmering:
- 1 cup thawed, frozen or fresh kernel corn
- 1 can canned and drained black beans
For those who may not be familiar with the 2 chiles mentioned here are pictures of the ancho (spicy raisin taste) and guajillo (green tea flavor with berry overtones) peppers.
Sometimes my tummy wants something and won't shut up until it gets what it wants.
Therefore, when it started chanting 'tortilla soup, tortilla soup' on Sunday, and I had already been shopping on Saturday, I had to make do with what was available in the house.
No corn tortillas ... well there were some jalapeno flavoured tostadas in my pantry. (Only 4 it turned out. Oh well.)
No fresh tomatoes ... well there were 3 containers, each holding 1 cup of diced tomatoes in the freezer.
No cheddar cheese or queso fresco ... paneer cheese was available.
See what I mean? :)
Here's what I ended up with starting with Eva's recipe. My picture is nowhere near as pretty but I ate two bowls after I made the soup because it was just that good. There was a lot of depth of flavour from the dried chiles and amazingly enough, the tostadas disappeared after about 15-20 min of simmering and thickened the soup. I liked the pureed texture of the tomatoes but you can add the diced tomatoes along with the chicken broth.
PICTURE GONE - I'll have to remake this and repost one.
Chicken Tortilla Soup (serves 4-6)
2 ancho chiles, stem removed and seeded (or 1 ancho and 1 guajillo)
1 onion, medium, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tomatoes, quartered, hard core removed (or 2 cups diced canned tomatoes with liquid)
1 tbsp diced jalapeno pepper (optional)
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
4 corn tortillas, torn into 1-2" chunks or tostadas, broken into pieces
4 cups of chicken or turkey broth
1/2 cup cilantro (optional for us cilantro haters)
1 cup shredded or cubed leftover chicken or turkey meat
1/2 green pepper, seeded and finely diced
Optional garnishes: shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese, queso fresco (fresh farmers or curd cheese or paneer), sour cream, diced avocado, squeeze of lime juice per bowl, corn tortillas cut into 1/4" strips and deep fried until crisp, torn cilantro, green onions
Break up the chiles and soak in 1 cup of hot to boiling water for about half an hour. Squeeze out the liquid and reserve
In a blender, puree the rehydrated chiles, onion, garlic, tomatoes and jalapeno pepper, using only as much liquid as required to puree the contents, from the chile soaking liquid or the canned tomatoes.
In a dutch oven or large pot, saute the cumin, chili and garlic powder at medium-high heat until the oil starts to bubble up. Add the pureed vegetables and salt and fry for a few minutes.
Add the reserved liquid from the chiles, tomatoes and the chicken broth and bring to the boil.
Add the torn tortillas and green pepper, cover and simmer for about half an hour.
Serve with preferred garnishes..
Ideas for future modifications to be added before simmering:
- 1 cup thawed, frozen or fresh kernel corn
- 1 can canned and drained black beans
For those who may not be familiar with the 2 chiles mentioned here are pictures of the ancho (spicy raisin taste) and guajillo (green tea flavor with berry overtones) peppers.