Tag: soup

Easy tortilla soup

I learned to cook through spending time in the kitchen with my parents and through watching cooking shows on Saturday mornings on PBS as a kid. Yep , I wasn’t watching Spiderman as a kid I was watching Julia, Jacque and Graham. In fact right now I’m watching cooking shoes on tv and I’m not talking about the watered down reality shows you see on food network.

I’m not sure when and where I first learned this recipe while sitting in front of the TV but one thing is for certain it sure is tasty and really easy to get on the table. 30 minutes from start to finish, minimal chopping and clean up make for an awesome mid week meal. Along the way I’ve taken some creative liberties and short cuts to make it my own.

Ingredients

  • 1 TBS olive oil
  • 1 onion roughly chopped
  • 1 Jalapeno sliced. – ribs and seeds removed
  • 5 cloves of garlic smashed
  • Cilantro stems finely chopped
  • 4 large ripe tomatoes
  • 1 quart of stock. Chicken or vegetable
  • Tortilla chips
  • 1/2 tbs cumin powder
  • Optional toppings- diced avocados, pumpkin seeds, shredded chicken, cotija, finely diced cilantro leaves

In a medium sized soup pot heat the olive oil over a medium heat and sauté onions for 2-3 minutes or until starting to turn a light golden brown and then add the jalapenos and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Follow with the smashed garlic cloves, cilantro stems and cumin powder and cook for another minute or so. Add your stock of choice, the tomatoes and a handful and a half of tortilla chips and cook for 10-12 minutes or until tomato skins have started to peel off. This next step can get a little dangerous so just proceed with caution! Transfer a 1/3 of the mixture into a blender and leave the lid cracked just a little, cover with a clean kitchen towel and give it a 30 second blitz or so. Transfer to another sauce pan and repeat until all of the soup has had its chance in the blender and allow to come back to temperature over medium heat for a few minutes.

When ready to eat, add 6-8 tortilla chips to a bowl and cover with the soup. At this point you can add your desired toppings and go to town on this bowl of deliciousness.

Advanced version

The above recipe is amazing but if you want to push it over the edge here are a few suggestions. Roast your tomatoes, onions and jalapeno in the oven with a gentle rub of olive oil for 30 or so minutes at 375. Or if your really feeling adventuress or have the grill going fire roast and then set off the vegetables to the side of the grill for a gentle smoking.

Curry red lentil Soup…

Maybe for once we can get right down to business on one of these recipes.

  • 1 large onion diced
  • 1 TBS olive oil
  • 1 can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1 “thumb” sized piece of ginger grated
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic grated.
  • 1 1/2 quarts of vegetable stock.
  • 10z red lentils
  • 1/2 brick of frozen chopped spinach
  • 1 tbs ginger powder
  • 1 1/2 tbs granulated garlic
  • 1 can coconut milk

In a large soup pot or dutch oven heat the olive oil over medium heat and add your diced onion. cook for 4-5 minutes stirring often, we are looking for the onions to turn translucent. Add the whole can of diced tomatoes, be sure to use the juice as well, cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Finely mince or use a micro plane to grate the ginger and garlic into the onion and tomato mixture, cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add the Vegetable stock and the lentils and cook for 40-45 minutes on a medium simmer or until the lentils are tender and starting to fall apart. You may need to add a little extra stock in the cooking process to keep the soup from getting to thick. You will need to stir the soup every couple of minutes to keep the lentils from sticking. In the last 10 minutes of the cooking process add the frozen spinach and allow it to come up to temperature. Add the granulated garlic and ginger at this stage along with the can of coconut milk. Once you add the coconut milk lower the burner to low and you can serve right away or let it sit at that temperature for 20-20 minutes.

Before service taste the soup and adjust seasoning to preference. I often serve ours with a drizzle of sriracha, a squeeze of fresh lime juice or some minced fresh cilantro.