Best 6 Cooks Illustrated Tortilla Soup Recipes

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat a pan with 1/4 cup oil over medium-high heat. Cut tortillas into thin strips and fry them in batches in the hot oil until crisp. Remove from the pan and allow them to drain on a paper towel. Repeat with remaining tortilla strips, adding more oil as needed then set aside.
• Preheat a pot with oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, garlic and chopped jalapeño and sauté until veggies soften.
• Add whole chicken, corn, beans, chilli powder, cumin, crushed tomatoes, salt, ¼ cup of cilantro and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and let simmer for at least 25 minutes.
• Remove chicken from the pot and shred it using 2 forks. Add shredded chicken back to the soup and simmer another 5 minutes then add lime juice.
• Serve the soup with some tortilla strips, pieces of avocado, fresh cilantro and lime wedges.

TORTILLA SOUP

Steps:

• Begin with a large pot. Saute the vegetables and chile briefly in about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. When the vegetables are limp, add the broth and add the garlic and cumin and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add chicken, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile (or beforehand), fry the corn tortilla strips in 350 degree F oil for 2 minutes until crispy. Drain well on paper towels. At the Blue Corn Cafe, we always have tons of chips around so we used crushed ones for garnish on the bottom of the soup bowl...the strips are added at the top. We, of course, use white and blue corn tortillas. If for some reason the blue variety are not available where you live, I suggest you immediately draft a letter to your Congressman! Yes, you can use all white or yellow tortillas.
• To finish the soup, you've got to make some slurry. Yep...this will add just a little body to the soup. With the cornstarch in a cup-sized container, mix as little cold water as possible to form a thin paste. This stuff feels and looks like...well, slurry. Bring the soup back up to a boil; stir with 1 hand and pour the slurry in slowly with the other. Continue to cook on high heat for a minute, then reduce to low. The soup will look cloudy at first but will clear up and thicken slightly. Remove from heat.
• Add cilantro and lime juice. Fill 8 to 12 cups or bowls about 1/4 full of crushed tortilla chips. Ladle soup on top. Place a handful of strips on top of each and serve. This soup (without the tortillas) keeps well for 3 to 4 days refrigerated. Tortillas will also keep well for a few days if sealed well and stored at room temperature. In moist climates they may require re-crisping in a 350 degree F oven for a few minutes.
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken (breast, leg, or thigh)
• 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
• 1/2 cup medium-dice green bell peppers
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves
• 2 teaspoons oregano leaves
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons white pepper
• 4 cups (1 quart) water
• This "machaca" style cooked meat is very versatile: use in tacos, enchiladas, soup, nachos, burritos, etc. Basically a process of braising, the meat and all ingredients are put together in a large pot and brought slowly to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If you desire, you can bake all of this in a covered dish in a 350 degree F. oven for about 3 hours for the same results. The meat should be tender to the point where it begins to shred...some of it may require quick chopping. You may want to reserve the liquid for use in soups, etc. Use the cooked meat in your dish right away or refrigerate for up to 3 days.

TORTILLA SOUP WITH CHICKEN AND LIME

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush 1 side of tortillas with oil; cut in half. Stack halves and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips. Spread strips on nonstick baking sheet. Bake until light golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on baking sheet.
• Combine broth, water, tomatoes, bay leaf, garlic, cumin and red pepper in saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken; simmer until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in green onions, cilantro and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.
• Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with tortilla strips and serve.

VEGETARIAN TORTILLA SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and jalapeño and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Add chile powder and stir to coat. Cook a minute or two to toast the spices, then add chipotles and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to caramelize a bit on the bottom of the pot, concentrating their flavor.
• Add vegetable broth, corn and 2 cups of water. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer until flavors meld and broth tastes rich and flavorful, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Heat oil in a large cast-iron or stainless-steel skillet or heavy-bottomed pot. Bring oil to 375 degrees and working in batches, fry tortilla strips until light golden brown and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt.
• Place about 3/4 of the tortilla strips into broth and stir to submerge and soften for a few minutes. Divide soup among bowls and top with avocado, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, onion and remaining fried tortilla strips. Serve lime alongside for squeezing.

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP I

Steps:

• In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano, tomatoes, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Stir in corn, hominy, chiles, beans, cilantro, and chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, and top with crushed tortilla chips, avocado slices, cheese, and chopped green onion.

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

Steps:

• Put the chicken, the beef bones if you're using them, 3 of the onion quarters and the garlic in a large pot. Add water just to cover (about 10 cups) and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat so the liquid bubbles gently. Cook, skimming the foam off the surface every now and then, until the chicken is very tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, put the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, fry 2 of the tortillas (one at a time if necessary), turning once, until crisp and golden, 2 to 3 minutes per tortilla. Drain on paper towels. Cut the 4 remaining tortillas into strips, add them to the skillet and fry, stirring to separate them, until crisp and golden, another 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt while they're still warm.
• When the chicken is tender, transfer it to a plate or cutting board with tongs or a slotted spoon (or put it in the fridge or freezer so it cools faster). When it's cool enough to handle, shred the meat with your fingers, discarding the bones and the skin. (If you used beef, discard it or save it for another use.)
• While the chicken is cooling, strain the stock and discard the solids. Peel the remaining quarter of an onion and put it in a blender with the chipotle, 1/4 cup of the cilantro and a sprinkle of salt. Crumble in the two whole fried tortillas and add enough stock to fill the blender a little more than halfway. Purée until the mixture is as smooth as possible.
• Pour the purée and remaining stock back into the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat so the mixture bubbles gently and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the shredded chicken, taste and add more salt if necessary. Divide the avocados, the cheese and the remaining 1/4 cup cilantro among 4 to 6 bowls. Ladle the soup into the bowls and garnish with the fried tortilla strips. Serve immediately with lime wedges if you like.