Many years ago, my dear friend, Char, taught me how to make tortilla soup in the style that she had learned in her previous life in Mexico. When she taught me, I had never had a tortilla soup, and one could not find one in the US in a restaurant. Over the years, as Mexican food has become more mainstream, I have seen a variety of tortilla soups on menus, but have never had one as beautiful or as simple and pure as the one that Char taught me to make. Thank you, Char, for introducing me to “real” tortilla soup. It is a favorite for my whole family.
Unlike many restaurant versions of this soup, Char’s is a broth-based soup. The broth, and soup are quite simple; it is the canvas against which one splashes colors of paint, and fresh flavors. Because the diners assemble their own soups, to their own tastes, every person has a soup of their own creation with the exact degree of spiciness they desire.
As with most of my recipes, there are easier and harder ways to make this. I make a quick version during the week using canned broth and tomatoes, and a more involved version on the weekends. Either way, it is always delicious.
Broth ingredients:
6 chicken legs
2 carrots, chunked
1 onion, quartered
2 cloves of smashed garlic
2 stalks of celery w/ greens
Fresh and/or dried herbs (parsley, cilantro, oregano, thyme are good)
Salt
Pepper corns
Soup ingredients:
1 c. small pasta (shells, alphabet, stars, orzo, etc.), toasted
1/2 a medium onion diced
1/2 tsp roasted ground cumin
3T fresh Mexican oregano, (or a tsp of dried).
2 pan-roasted, peeled and pureed tomatoes (or substitute a 1 lb. can of fire roasted tomatoes that have been pureed.
2 to 3 cups of chicken (use leg meat if you made broth, or throw in leftover chicken meat)
Make the broth: Of course, home made broth is the best, but if you don’t have time to make a simple chicken broth, use a high quality prepared broth! We like to make our broth as follows:
Put six chicken legs in a deep pot. Add a couple of whole carrots, an onion, some garlic, a bunch of fresh or dried herbs, and any other veggies you have in your fridge that need to be used up. Cover with water (6-8 cups of water). Add about a teaspoon of salt, and some whole peppercorns. Boil  and simmer for 30 minutes, until the chicken meat is pulling away from the bones. Remove the legs and set aside to cool. Strain the broth and reserve. Note: you should have 6 to 8 cups of broth an the end. If you don’t have enough broth, supplement with prepared broth, or simply add water and seasoning as needed!
Make fried corn tortilla strips: Heat about an inch of vegetable oil in a heavy skillet. While it is getting hot, cut a stack of tortillas into thin strips. You can play with the thickness, depending on what you find you like. When the oil is hot, place a handful of strips into the oil, and fry until crisp. Drain on paper towels.
Make the soup: Toast pasta in a skillet. I know it sounds a little weird, but this is important; toasting the pasta gives the final product a toasty flavor–go figure! Just throw pasta into a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir continuously until the pasta begins to turn pink. At this stage, immediately dump pasta into a bowl, and set aside. If you leave it in the pan it might burn. I know, because I have done this more than one time!
If you are roasting your tomatoes, put them in your heavy skillet and turn and burn the skin. You can also do this under the broiler. The main thing is you want them to get all black and burned on the outside, but not too cooked. Afterward, you peel them and puree them.
In a soup pot, sauté the diced onions in a bit of oil, add the herbs. Add toasted pasta, pureed tomatoes, chicken, and add broth. Let simmer for about ten minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Adjust seasoning.
Accoutrements:
Must have items:
Fried corn tortilla strips
Quartered limes
Cilantro
Roasted and peeled peppers (green, jalapeños, serrano, fresno, or other spicy pepper), diced or cut into thin strips.
Optional add-ins:
Avocado
Radishes
Shredded cabbage
Sour cream or yogurt
Cheese
Salsa
Whatever else you think would be good
