Grey Day at the Ranch
Recently, the weather has been sloppy and cold, drizzling, freezing, and then drizzling again. I can’t recall such a miserable winter here at the ranch. But to be honest, I am never miserable, even in our worst weather.
The colors around the ranch turn from iron oxide red to steely blue. In the cold mist outside, the white-tailed deer emerge from the brush, looking for each other, either to fight or love. Cold rain drips from the mesquites, down onto the cactus, and we listen at night for the sound of dripping, vigilant for roof leaks. The wind is still. We huddle indoors with our pets, drinking coffee and stare out the window, hoping to see our usual golden sun in the cold grey sky. It will be back soon.
Perfect Day for Tortilla Soup
On days like this, you can find me in the kitchen.. cooking, roasting, boiling, steaming, or baking something. Today it’s Tortilla Soup, the best dish on cold days like today. Made of this and that, the fried strips of tortillas function like a ranch style noodle, crispy until they are dunked in the hot, chile infused broth, becoming hearty and belly warming as we slurp up every spoonful.
If you are lucky enough to have a Vitamix blender, this recipe for Tortilla Soup is made easier in that you don’t have to meticulously strain out all of the chile seeds, and the chewy bits of chile pod skin, as in days of old. Simply remove the stem and seeds from the dried chile, boil until the chile is tender, and then blend with your broth. So incredibly easy, and miles better than canned soup.
If you don’t have a heavy-duty blender, you can simply add chile puree made the old-fashioned way, as explained here. But since I am a modern, busy lady, I’m using my blender to make my Classic Tortilla Soup. My valuable time is needed elsewhere, sitting in my comfy chair, wrapped in a moth-eaten shawl, sipping coffee, and watching the drips as they fall from the grey sky.
Chile Ancho are the wide chiles, and Chile Pasilla are the narrow, thin ones
Removing the chiles and stems is a quick task, but you may want to wear protective gloves.
Crispy fried tortilla strips take the place of noodles
Frying dried chiles takes only 5-10 seconds, but careful not to blacken them, as they will be bittter.
There are a lot of little details needed when making Tortilla Soup
Classic Tortilla Soup
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 80 min
- Yield: 8 Servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
12 – 20 tortillas, cut into thin strips
Vegetable Oil for frying
Soup:
2 dried chile pasilla
2 dried chile ancho
4 quarts defatted chicken broth (4 lt)
4 tomatoes, chopped (about 1 lb/500 gr)
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
Salt to taste
1 tbsp. chopped cilantro (4 gr)
Toppings (prepare in advance):
1 lb (500gr) oz pkg queso fresco or feta cheese, crumbled
3 – 4 avocados, sliced
1 cup (240 ml) mexican sour cream (optional)
1 onion, finely chopped
Instructions
Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chiles, and break the chiles into pieces. Set aside.
Heat vegtable oil in a large 10″ skillet. Add the strips of tortillas, and fry over medium heat until crispy, about 4 minutes. Remove from the vegetable oil, and drain the strips on paper toweling. Add the pieces of dried chiles, and fry very briefly, for 5 to 10 seconds. Remove the chiles from the vegetable oil, and place in the container of a blender.
Add 4 cups (1lt) of chicken broth to the container of the blender, along with the tomatoes, onion and garlic. Puree well until smooth, adding as much of the remaining chicken broth needed to facilitate blending. Pour the puree into a 6 qt stock pot, along with any remaining chicken broth. Heat until simmering, salt to taste, and add cilantro. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
Fry tortilla strips in vegetable oil, until crispy. Serve soup in individual bowls, or in a large tureen. Serve all toppings and tortilla strips in separate dishes, so that each person can garnish their soup to their liking.
Notes
If you have time to make the Tortilla Soup one day in advance, the flavor will be more robust and developed. However, it would be better to fry the tortilla strips right before serving the soup. Simply fry the chiles briefly, remove the vegetable oil from the heat, and leave in the skillet overnight until you are ready to fry the tortilla strips the next day. This is what I do, although some may not like having a skillet of frying oil sitting around the kitchen.
The color alone drew me in – this is absolutely delicious and gorgeous – thank you!
I just discovered you! You have got to be my soul sister!!!! I’m Guerrero! You have inspired me to forge ahead with my cooking and blog. In love with everything you share. I’m so bummed I missed knowing about your store!!!! Thank you for the awesome Instagram pictures. So beautiful.
Wow! Really a nice recipe.
I’ll definitely give a try to it and come up with a feedback. Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks so much! I’m here if you have any questions!! MG
I’ve used this recipie for years. I make my own chicken broth and use shredded chicken in this. I also add a jalepeno to the blender. I add white hominy as well at the very end of cooking the soup. And I use red tortillas instead of white or yellow. Everyone always comments how good it is and suprised a white girl made it. ❤️ Thank you, love it!
Haha! Love it, I’m glad you are sharing htat with family and friends. That is what it is all about!! Enjoy, and blessings at your table!
MG