How to Make Aztec Tortilla Soup

This excellent soup can be made vegetarian by replacing the chicken stock with vegetable stock. Serves 6.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Groceries
• Food Processors
• Griddles
• Saucepans
• Skillets
• Tongs
• 2 large avocados - pitted, the flesh cut into strips
• 1/4 cup canola oil (for frying)
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 8 corn tortillas - cut into long, thin strips
• 3 dried pasilla chiles - stemmed, seeded and cut into strips
• 3 garlic cloves - unpeeled
• 1 tbsp. lard
• 3 limes - cut in half
• 1 medium onion - peeled and quartered
• 4 ripe plum tomatoes
• salt
• white pepper

Making the Broth

1. Put the garlic, tomatoes and onion on a flat cast-iron griddle on medium heat. Turn them every couple of minutes, letting them get dark in spots.
2. The garlic will get soft in its skin, the onion will turn brownish black in spots and the tomatoes' skin will blacken in spots. When everything is soft and fragrant, remove from the griddle.
3. Peel the garlic and place with the onion and tomato in a food processor. Puree the mixture.
4. Heat the lard in a 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. When the lard is hot, add the tomato puree while stirring constantly.
5. Cook the mixture for 2 minutes, then lower the heat to medium and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Add the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper.
7. Keep broth warm over low heat.

Assembling the Soup

8. Heat the oil in a small sauté pan on high heat. Using tongs, fry the tortilla strips a few at a time, until golden.
9. Drain the tortilla strips on paper towels. Lower the heat of the sauté pan to medium-high.
10. Place the chile strips two at a time into the oil for two seconds. Drain them on paper towels.
11. Place some of the shredded cheese and tortilla strips in the bottom of a big soup bowl. Ladle some of the hot soup over the cheese and tortillas.
12. Add a few of the chile strips and avocado strips and sprinkle several drops of lime juice on top.

Tips & Warnings

• Frying the puree can be messy, as the lard will splatter if too hot. Stir quickly to solve this problem. The more you stir, the less it splatters.
• Fry the chiles for no more than two seconds - they can become bitter very quickly!