Nom Nom: Tortilla Soup

For all our forehead-smackingness over the stereotyping of all Latinos as “immigrants from Northern Mexico,” we do love tortillas. So here’s a nice, simple recipe combining tortillas and other things Mexitinos go crazy for: Avocados, chile peppers and that most traditional of Mexican cheeses - Monterey Jack. (Guys. Seriously?) Anyway. Tortilla soup. Here we go:

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

4 cups chicken broth or homemade chicken stock

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

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

Directions

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.

Devour. While sitting inside a giant sombrero or whatever it is that Latispanics do. Olé, etc!

Tortilla Soup [SimplyRecipes - Elise]