Tortilla Soup (Sopa de Tortilla)
Tortilla soup has a warm, silky tomato and chile-based broth, and is customized with traditional add-ins like fried tortilla strips (a must-have!), cubes of panela cheese, Mexican cream, avocado, and fried strips of pasilla chiles.
Ingredients
Soup base
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil I use safflower
- 1 corn tortilla torn into large chunks
- 1 chile guajillo seeds, veins and stem removed
- ~1/4 large white onion, cut into large chunks about 4.5 ounces or 125g)
- 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
- 8 medium Roma tomatoes, cut into large chunks about 800g or 1 lb 12 ounces
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 liter chicken broth about 4 cups, see notes
Garnish and add-ins
- ~1/2 cup vegetable oil I use safflower
- 8 corn tortillas, about 6 inches in diameter, cut into thin strips your choice of white, yellow or blue
- 1 chile pasilla, cut into thin rounds stem and seeds removed
- 1 avocado, cut into cubes
- 4.5 ounces queso fresco or queso panela, cut into cubes about 125g
- ~4 tbsp Mexican cream
Instructions
Soup base
- Heat oil in a pot over medium high heat until shimmering, about 3 minutes
- Add garlic, onion, chile and tortilla to the pot and stir occasionally, about 2-3 minutes, until garlic just starts to brown
- Add in the tomatoes and cloves and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes soften, about 8 minutes
- Add chicken broth and salt and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering partially covered, about 15 minutes more or until tomatoes have started to disintegrate
- Remove the cloves and place all ingredients in a blender. Allow to cool slightly and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture back into the pot and discard any solids or pulp from the straining process.
- Simmer covered an additional 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
- Adjust salt and remove from heat.
Garnish and add-ins
- Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat until shimmering, about 3 minutes
- Working in batches, fry the tortilla strips until golden, stirring occasionally, about 2-3 minutes per batch. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat until all tortilla strips are fried.
- Next, add the chile pasilla to the oil and fry, moving occasionally, about 30 seconds total. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain any excess oil.
Putting it all together
- Evenly divide the soup between 6 bowls
- Allow each person to top with prepared garnishes as desired
Notes
- Vegetable broth can be substituted for chicken broth for a vegetarian version of this soup. You could also make this soup vegan by using plant-based cheese, and cream, or eliminating these garnishes