This is based on the "fake" chicken tortilla soup from America's Test Kitchen. =)
In lieu of frying dried peppers in oil then puréeing them as per traditional Mexican recipes, this one just uses chipotle peppers in adobo.This soup actually had its genesis at the same time as our chicken filling for taco night.
If you recall, I poached the chicken in some water with onions, Mexican oregano and cilantro. I then shredded the chicken. I used some for our chicken filling and some for this soup.
Of course, I saved the resulting liquid.The soup base is simply onions (1 or 2), tomatoes (1 to 3) and anywhere from 1 to 4 chipotle peppers in adobo. I usually buzz them together in the food processor.
In this case, though, I just sliced the onions while the tomatoes and chipotles got buzzed. I've used fresh tomatoes and canned tomatoes. Both works for me.
Then, it's a straight dump-into-the-pot.
This is where most of the waiting happens. The liquid mass above has to turn into a solid mass like below. This could take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes.
The broth goes in and gets boiled. The chicken goes in and gets heated through.
Then it's assemble at your will. We've fake-fried tortilla before (in the oven) to make them crisp. This time, we just used Que Pasa tortilla chips. Condiments include cilantro, lime, minced onion and queso fresco.
(We've never been able to get queso fresco, so we've used feta cheese in the past. Its briny nature added something different and delicious to the soup.)
[js]
Tortilla soup is yummy.
RECIPE: Click here for the recipe.
[eatingclub] vancouver Mexican
Tacos... then
Tacos... now
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Semi-Lime-cooked, Semi-Yucatecan Shrimp with Garlic Chips
Chicken, Broccoli and Cheese with Pipían Verde
Quickie Turkey Tortilla Soup
Tacos of Carnitas with Pineapple, with Roasted Salsa and Sweet Potato
Shrimp a la Mexicana (Camarones a la Plancha)
Enchiladas Verdes
Cilantro Horchata
Strawberry Cilantro Salsa, on Grilled Flank Steak
Mexican Ancho Guajillo Chicken
Chipotle Ground Turkey on Flour Tortilla
Tacos... again (July 2009)
Tacos al Pastor with Chipotle Peanut Salsa
Tacos with Beer-braised Carnitas Filling
Shredded Beef and Tripe Tacos
Duck Enchiladas with Chipotle Peanut Salsa
Blueberry Tres Leches Cake
Crab Tostada
Homemade Mexican Chorizo Sausage
Torta (Mexican Sandwich)
TS,
ReplyDeleteBeen on a Mexican bent here too. Soup recipe inspired ground wild pork version here. Its the Adobo. Makes it all so easy and quick. Yours looks really good.
I will try Feta one day, sounds interesting. Queso is well worth the effort though, knocks the ice-pick sensation off our fresh grated Jalapeno topping.
Keep up the outstanding blog, inspirational and informative......
Thanks! I'm verklempt.
ReplyDeleteHey, what is this grated jalapeno topping? Is it just grated jalapenos? Or is there more? Will definitely try that.
And yes, I think next time we do have to scour the city for queso fresco.
=)
TS,
ReplyDeleteYep, just fine, fine particles of the hottest raw Jalapeno you can find. A crisp red one is your best hope. Sprinkle lightly over the surface of finished plate. Do not touch eyes. The floating little globs of melted cheese, with pepper dots, OMG. Watched the rednecks in Houston do this to canned tomato soup and even it was really good..... Just do it, everything Mexican.
I had some crushed tomatoes in my cupboard (an accidental purchase) and decided to try this recipe with those. My tomato/ onion/ chipotle mix was, as a result, pretty "goopy", and I confess I didn't wait for it to solidify as much as you did for yours. The end result, however, was a delicious, full-bodied, smooth, and tomato-y soup. This is probably one of those recipes that is difficult to do poorly, even when you're subbing in less-than-ideal ingredients. I don't doubt that rednecks in Houston can make variations taste good...
ReplyDelete