Chicken Tortilla Soup

There are hundreds of tortilla soup recipes out there. But, this version is texturally (hmm, is that even a real word?) my favortie. It involves pretty much the same ingredients that most recipes include, but it’s blended, giving the soup a creamier and smoother texture than most. And that’s what makes it so awesome…it’s definitely a whole meal in itself.

A must topping for this soup is some black bean salsa (see recipe here). But the possibilities are endless. You can use sour cream, fresh cilantro, jalapeno, avocado, tortilla strips, cheese… or whatever your favorite mexican flavors are. Give it a try and do let me know if you enjoyed this soup recipe, in a comment below.

Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
4 garlic cloves
1 jalapeno/serrano pepper
4 corn tortillas
1 (10oz) can of diced tomatoes with green chilies
5 cups of chicken broth
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper powder (optional)
1 tsp dried oregano
Big pinch of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 cup of frozen corn
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Salt to taste

Optional Toppings:
Black bean Salsa (see recipe below)
Tortilla strips
Avocados, diced
Sour cream
Cilantro
Jalapenos

Method:
– Start by roughly dicing the onion & garlic. Don’t worry too much about chopping it fine, we’re going to blend the soup up later.
– Heat some oil in a heavy bottom pot, then toss in the onion and garlic and sautee them for a few minutes (3-4 minutes) on medium-high, until they turn soft and translucent.
– Cut up 4 corn tortillas into roughly 1 inch pieces. (Again, don’t worry about being exact) And also cut up one jalapeno/ serrano pepper (de-seeded if you want to cut down on the heat).
– Add the tortilla pieces & jalapeno/serrano to the pot and sautee them for a couple minutes with the onion & garlic.
– Next, pour in a whole can of Ro-tel (diced tomatoes with green chillies) and 5 cups of chicken broth.
– Add some cumin, cayenne pepper and oregano to the pot and bring everything up to a boil. Then turn off the heat, add finely chopped cilantro and allow the soup to cool enough to put in the blender.
– Once the soup has cooled off a little, spoon the soup into a blendee/ food processor in batches and puree the soup until it’s smooth.
– Return the soup to the pot, turn the heat on to medium high and let it thicken.
– Add the corn & chicken to the soup and very gently stir them in. lower the heat to a gentle simmer and let the corn cook through for a couple minutes. Taste and season the soup with salt (keeping in mind the broth was probably salted).
– Lastly pour in the cream and add the cheese to the soup, stir it gently to mix everything together.
– For a topping, you can make your own tortilla strips by cutting 3-4 corn tortilla’s in half and then cut it up into half inch strips. Deep fry the tortilla strips in about an and inch of oil, in small batches until they turn a light golden brown. Scoop them out from the oil and place the tortilla strips on a paper napkin to drain the excess oil.
– Just before you dish the soup out, squeeze in the juice of half a lime.
– Serve the soup topped with some black bean salsa (see recipe below) and the crunchy tortilla strips.(You can also garnish the soup with sour cream, avocados, cilantro, jalapenos…whatever you like!)

Black Bean Salsa Recipe

Ingredients:
1 (15 oz) can black beans,
1-2 tomatoes
1/2 an onion
1 jalapeno/serrano pepper
Handful of fresh cilantro
1/2 a lime
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/3 tsp cumin powder
Salt to taste

Method:
– Drain and rinse a can of black beans.
– Add to it, the finely diced onion, bell pepper, jalapeno/serrano (de-seeded for less heat), tomatoes (de-seeded) and chopped cilantro.
– To season the mix, squeeze in the juice of half a lime, add some cumin and cayenne pepper powder (optional, only if you like it spicy), and salt.
– Toss everything together and taste for seasonings.
– Serve chilled.