Post by Ken on Apr 16, 2020 18:58:52 GMT -6
I have been noodling with this recipe for longer than I have made beer. I saw a Martha Stewart show for Tortilla Soup and some of the ideas came from her. Some tips and tricks from Rick Bayless added a little more to the recipe and then Seagis (blueboard) suggested a roux when I asked how to give it a little more body. This is the final version after all these years. It looks labor intensive but it's a fun thing to make. Get your ingredients, give yourself some time, pick a Saturday or something when there is nothing happening, start about an hour or 90 minutes before you want to eat and go.
Ingredients
One onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 pablano pepper
1 cubanelli or banana pepper
1 jar of good salsa
Two 32-oz boxes of chicken stock
Masa Harina (corn flour)
3-4 tbsp butter
Soft corn tortillas
Avocado or olive oil
Corn oil
Monterrey Jack cheese
One avocado
2-3 boneless chicken breasts
The peppers can be any kind you like… mild, spicy, etc. Same for the salsa. The salsa I use is Frontera Grill Roasted Tomato. You can also sub the salsa with a can of crushed tomatoes which come with a number of seasonings… fire roasted, garlic, chipotle peppers, chiles, etc. The chicken can be cooked prior to making the soup and you can brown it in a pan, grill it, etc. I typically marinate it in some Mexican-style spices and olive oil and then grill it. This can be done ahead of time and the chicken can be cut up and added at the end of simmering the soup. Place the garlic (with the papery skin still on) and peppers in a non-stick pan on medium heat to dry roast. Watch and turn them to get them soft and blistered. Chop the onion and saute with some oil in a large pot until soft and transparent. When done, take the onion and garlic (papery skin taken off) and place into a blender or Ninja and blend until smooth and pour back into the pot. Add some stock to the blender to get it to blend and to get the rest of the slurry out of there. Pour the salsa or crushed tomatoes into the pot along with the stock. Pull the stems off the roasted peppers and chop them finely and add that to the pot. Take the butter and slowly melt it in the same pan used for the peppers and garlic. When liquified, add masa harina and stir to make a roux. The consistency should be thick and dry so keep adding masa harina until you reach the proper consistency… sort of like Play-doh. Add the roux to the pot and stir it. Bring the soup to a boil and then lower the temp to a simmer and let it go for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, take the soft corn tortillas and cut into thin strips with kitchen scissors. Add a good amount of corn oil (other oil can be used too) to the pan used to make the roux (wipe out any residual roux with a paper towel) and get the oil hot over medium-high heat. Add some of the corn tortilla strips to the oil. You should be able to do them all at one time if the pan is large enough and there is enough oil. Otherwise, split the strips into two batches and do them separately. Keep an eye on them and stir them frequently. Once they start to crisp up and turn darker brown, get ready to remove them with tongs and place them on a plate with a paper towel. Add the rest of the strips and crisp them if necessary. Shred the cheese and cut up an avocado. When the soup has simmered for about 25 minutes, add the cut-up chicken and let it go for another 5 minutes or so. Serve the soup with the cheese, crisp tortilla strips and avocado. You can add black beans too.
Ingredients
One onion
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 pablano pepper
1 cubanelli or banana pepper
1 jar of good salsa
Two 32-oz boxes of chicken stock
Masa Harina (corn flour)
3-4 tbsp butter
Soft corn tortillas
Avocado or olive oil
Corn oil
Monterrey Jack cheese
One avocado
2-3 boneless chicken breasts
The peppers can be any kind you like… mild, spicy, etc. Same for the salsa. The salsa I use is Frontera Grill Roasted Tomato. You can also sub the salsa with a can of crushed tomatoes which come with a number of seasonings… fire roasted, garlic, chipotle peppers, chiles, etc. The chicken can be cooked prior to making the soup and you can brown it in a pan, grill it, etc. I typically marinate it in some Mexican-style spices and olive oil and then grill it. This can be done ahead of time and the chicken can be cut up and added at the end of simmering the soup. Place the garlic (with the papery skin still on) and peppers in a non-stick pan on medium heat to dry roast. Watch and turn them to get them soft and blistered. Chop the onion and saute with some oil in a large pot until soft and transparent. When done, take the onion and garlic (papery skin taken off) and place into a blender or Ninja and blend until smooth and pour back into the pot. Add some stock to the blender to get it to blend and to get the rest of the slurry out of there. Pour the salsa or crushed tomatoes into the pot along with the stock. Pull the stems off the roasted peppers and chop them finely and add that to the pot. Take the butter and slowly melt it in the same pan used for the peppers and garlic. When liquified, add masa harina and stir to make a roux. The consistency should be thick and dry so keep adding masa harina until you reach the proper consistency… sort of like Play-doh. Add the roux to the pot and stir it. Bring the soup to a boil and then lower the temp to a simmer and let it go for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, take the soft corn tortillas and cut into thin strips with kitchen scissors. Add a good amount of corn oil (other oil can be used too) to the pan used to make the roux (wipe out any residual roux with a paper towel) and get the oil hot over medium-high heat. Add some of the corn tortilla strips to the oil. You should be able to do them all at one time if the pan is large enough and there is enough oil. Otherwise, split the strips into two batches and do them separately. Keep an eye on them and stir them frequently. Once they start to crisp up and turn darker brown, get ready to remove them with tongs and place them on a plate with a paper towel. Add the rest of the strips and crisp them if necessary. Shred the cheese and cut up an avocado. When the soup has simmered for about 25 minutes, add the cut-up chicken and let it go for another 5 minutes or so. Serve the soup with the cheese, crisp tortilla strips and avocado. You can add black beans too.