Tortilla Soup

This soup is inspired by a small restaurant in one of the high rise buildings close to where I worked in downtown El Paso. It was one of the most wonderful holes in the wall in El Paso.  I searched Tortilla Soup recipes all over the place, but every recipe had red broth, beans, corn, or other Americanizing additives unfitting of the Mexican soup I was so fond of.  So I based my creation off the soup I remembered with very minimal additions.

I recently brought this to a Christmas Eve Party where each attending family was supposed to bring their favorite soup.  Usually on Christmas Eve we would eat Pozole as a family, but Pozole uses Hominy and has some rich distinct flavors in it that we thought other attendees would not appreciate, so we opted for Tortilla soup. The Mexican way.  I am so glad I have a picture to post so you can see just how glorious a bowl looks; doesn't it look blissfully divine.  Honestly, this soup is HEAVENLY. 

Tortilla Soup

9 boneless skinless chicken thighs
15 corn tortillas
32 oz box Chicken broth (or 2 cans broth)
1 small onion finely chopped
1 small can diced green chiles (brand name is best; generic tends to be soggy and mushy)
Garlic powder to taste
Salt to taste


Garnishes:
2 Avocados, diced
1 cup shredded non-dairy yellow cheese
1/2 bunch cilantro coarsely chopped
8 oz non-dairy sour cream

1) Boil Chicken thighs in large pot with enough water to cover 
     chicken plus about an inch. 

2) Let broth and chicken cool, shred/pull apart chicken, remove 
     excess fat from broth, return chicken to broth and set aside.

3) Cut tortillas in strips about 1 cm by 1.5 inches.  You can do 
     this by first cutting the tortillas in three equally wide strips 
     and then cut those strips in strips 1 cm wide. I just stack 
     tortillas all on top of each other and do this all at once. 

4) Fill deep pot with 3 inches of oil (I use an Asparagus pot seen here ).     
     Heat on high until you can drop a crumb of tortilla in and 
     watch it sizzle. Fry tortilla strips a handful at a time until 
     they are a golden brown.  After first handfuls turn heat down 
     to medium.  Set strips on a cookie sheet lined with paper 
     towels to cool. Store in paper bag.*

5)  To homemade broth add: 32 oz box/cans chicken broth, 
     finely chopped onion, can diced green chiles well drained, 
     garlic powder to taste, salt to taste. Boil until onions are soft; 
     about 15 mins. 

6) Serve soup, garnish with a handful of the fried tortilla strips, 
     freshly chopped cilantro, diced avocados, tablespoon non-
     dairy sour cream, and shredded yellow non-dairy cheese 

This recipe makes 12-15 bowls. I hope you enjoy it as much as our family does!

*If you want to cut on prep time you can buy store bought tortilla strips, but I do not recommend it.