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Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Tortilla Soup

Tomatoes and corn are defining ingredients in Mexican cooking and they come together perfectly in the deceptively simple and delicious tortilla soup. Using a few Mexican specific ingredients - a dried poblano pepper and roasted cumin seeds - creates a complexly flavored soup that you can make in less than 30 minutes. Add avocado, cilantro, cheese and the crunch of corn chips and it's a party in your mouth!

Tortilla Soup

1/2 onion, minced
1 stalk celery, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 dried poblano pepper with seeds (AKA ancho or pasilla)
1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 cup canned tomatoes (or 2 cups canned is fine)
1/2 cup chick peas
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/3 cup cream
salt
pepper
corn chips
1/2 avocado, cubed
shredded cheese
cilantro, minced

Saute onion, garlic and celery in olive oil until translucent. Add poblano, broken up into pieces and saute another 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, chick peas, cumin and oregano and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes until well melded. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Stir in cream and puree in batches in a blender. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with corn chips, avocado and cilantro and cheese if you like.

Hugs!

2 comments:

  1. Oh yum! Sounds good right now as we're currently getting buried in snow here in Chicago! I love that this uses so many dried/canned goods, another reason this is a perfect winter dinner.

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  2. I'm still afraid to cook with non-canned peppers. I've heard too many horror stories about people cooking with them, then they touch their face with the juice still on their fingers and their cheek falls off.

    Or something like that.

    I'll get over it soon.

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