Soup!

I am always happy when the temperatures start to dip because it feels like soup, chili, and stew weather. Eating a steaming bowl of food doesn't always sound appetizing when it is 90 degrees out with 100% humidity. I was in search to make something that I haven't tried before and a soup that wasn't cream based. I saw this recipe on Foodgawker.com and thought it looked really good. And now that we just celebrated Thanksgiving, you can use the left over turkey instead of chicken. This recipe didn't have much of a kick to it, but it has a really nice flavor. Next time I'll probably add a Serrano pepper to the stock while it is cooking to give a little heat to it. I have also toyed with the idea of adding hominy to it, but I haven't really used hominy before so I wanted to do a little research before I make that leap.

Tortilla Soup

courtesy of Beso for Food Network Magazine

3 dried mulato or ancho chile peppers


1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil


1 onion, sliced


3 cloves garlic, smashed


1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes


1 tablespoon coriander seeds (or roughly 2 tsp ground coriander)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

8 cups low-sodium chicken broth


2 bay leaves


4 sprigs fresh thyme

Kosher salt


1 to 2 grilled chicken breasts, sliced
(I bought one of the fully cooked rotisserie chicken to cut down on prep time)

3/4 to 1 cup crumbled queso fresco
(we used Monetery Jack cheese)

1 avocado, diced


Fresh cilantro


4 corn tortillas, cut into strips and fried
 (or crushed tortilla chips)

1 to 2 tablespoons sour cream

Place dried chiles in a bowl, cover with hot water and soak until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain the chiles, pull out the stems and most of the seeds and transfer to a blender (or food processor) and process to make a smooth-ish puree.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes with their juice, 1/4 cup chile puree, the coriander seeds and cumin and cook about 5 minutes. Add the broth, bay leaves and thyme and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook about 

30 minutes.Strain the broth through a medium-mesh strainer into another pot, discarding the solids. Season with salt.

 Place a small amount of chicken, queso fresco, avocado, cilantro, fried tortilla strips and sour cream in each bowl, then pour about 1 cup hot broth around the garnishes.