TORTILLA SOUP (SOPA AZTECA)
tortilla soup as served in Guadalajara, Mexico
This soup contains many ingredients that were a gift from Mexico to the world: tomatos, chiles, avocado and corn in the form of tortillas. The recipe comes from a Mexican cookbook that I purchased eons ago.
I. PREP THE TORTILLAS
• 4-8 leftover corn tortillas (NOTE: you can also use the dregs of nacho chips, those broken ones left in the bottom of a package, but add less salt if you use these.)
The original recipe called for frying the cut-up strips of tortillas in 1/4 cup of oil, but I brushed them lightly with corn oil, sliced them into strips and then toasted them in the oven until crispy.
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| brushed lightly with corn oil | sliced into strips | baked in a 350° oven until crispy |
II. THE SOUP
• 1 medium onion, chopped and fried lightly in 1 tbsp. corn oil in a deep pan
• 2 garlic cloves mashed
• 4 or 5 ripe Roma or Plum tomatoes, blanched, skinned and ground (OR a tin of stewed tomatoes)
• 6 cups chicken broth (OR add 3 tbsp. of Chicken-in-a-Mug to 6 cups water)
• 2 sprigs of epazote (I couldn’t find epazote anywhere so I left it out).
• salt to taste
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| plum tomatoes | blanch tomatoes | soup base |
III. THE GARNISHES
In México, sometimes these are mixed into the soup and other times they are served on the side. The soup wouldn’t be tortilla soup without the tortilla strips, avocado, pasilla chiles and queso fresco; all other garnishes are optional.
• toasted tortilla strips from Step I above
• 1-2 avocados, the flesh cut into squares
cut the avocado into squares while still in its skin, then scoop out with a spoon
• 1 or 2 dried pasilla chiles – broken into pieces and soaked
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| pasilla chiles are a ‘secret’ ingredient for tortilla soup | soak the chiles and serve on the side |
• Queso Fresco, cut into cubes (OR Monterey Jack cheese, which is melty and results in a ‘California-style’ tortilla soup)
• cream
• extra chopped onions
• cilantro
• cut-up fresh limes
¡Bien provecho!