Tortilla soup is a lot like American vegetable soup. You use whatever’s around the house and everyone’s is different. My sister-in-law, who lives in Mexico, showed me how to make hers and I made my own from her lead. Try my recipe first, then change things or substitute as you like.
Soup
2-3 cans S&W stewed Mexican Recipe tomatoes
1 can chicken broth (vegetable would work as well)
a half of one large onion
two cloves garlic
1 lb. cooked chicken (your choice–I used chopped breasts, but you could use drumsticks and boil them to make your own broth)
frozen corn (one small bag)
salt to taste
Toppings
10-15 corn tortillas cut into strips
3-4 Tablespoons of your favorite vegetable oil (I use canola)
cilantro
sour cream
limes
Dump tomatoes, chopped onion, and garlic cloves into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Pour blended mixture into a pot and add the chicken broth, cooked chicken, and corn. Simmer until corn is cooked. Add water if needed for consistency. Season to taste (mine isn’t spicy, but if you wanted to add some red pepper this would be the time).
Simmer the soup while you make the tortilla strips. Heat the oil until it looks shiny on top. Put tortilla strips into the hot oil. Don’t fry them all at once. Cook until golden brown. Drain on plate covered in a paper towel. This process doesn’t require a whole ton of oil. Most recipes require you to deep fry the tortilla strips, but I don’t feel that is necessary.
Top your soup with cilantro, a little squeeze of lime, sour cream, and tortilla strips. You could also put avocados on top. I forgot to buy them, so they aren’t in the picture.
Enjoy!
