Tortilla Soup
Difficulty Level Easy
YIELD Makes 6 servings
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A number of years ago, a good friend of mine sat on a board that was having it's annual general meeting in Guadalajara, Mexico. She was allowed to bring her spouse, but he had to stay home to take care of their children, so she asked me along on the trip. While she spent her days sitting in hot rooms listening to boring meetings, I got to wander around the streets of that beautiful city, enjoying the architecture and the art galleries. I also had the opportunity to eat many wonderful meals there, and if truth be told, to drink copious amounts of tequila.
It didn't matter how fancy or humble a restaurant was, there was always tortilla soup on the menu and I tried it a few times just to compare them. This is one of those soups that has a few standard ingredients such as avocado and cilantro, but is open to a lot of interpretation. I didn't use a recipe for this, I just banged it together one morning, and it was a big hit with my husband, although he was initially dubious about something called tortilla soup. Occasionally you will see a dollop of sour cream as part of the garnish, but I left that out and had a vegan soup.
INGREDIENTS
| 1 tbsp | olive oil |
| 1 | medium onion, finely chopped |
| 1 | garlic clove, minced |
| 1 cup | mushrooms, sliced |
| 1 cup | canned tomatoes, coarsely chopped |
| 1/2 | cilantro, finely chopped |
| 6 cups | vegetable stock |
| juice of 1 or two limes | |
| 1 | tortilla |
| 1/2 | avocado, diced |
| salt and pepper to taste | |
PREPARATION:
- In a large pot heat olive oil and add onion, cooking until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook for another couple of minutes.
- Add mushrooms and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes. Set aside enough cilantro for garnishing the soup and add the rest to the pot, stirring. Add stock and allow to cook for 15 or 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet and place tortilla in and cook until it starts to brown. Turn over and brown on the other side, taking care not to burn it. Remove from the skillet and allow to cool and then slice into ribbons.
- Add lime juice and salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and top with tortilla ribbons, avocado and reserved cilantro. Sprinkle a bit more lime juice over top, if desired.
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