Tortilla Soup

Recipe from the Tables of Content cookbook 2007 by the Junior League of Birmingham, Alabama

Aubrey and I LOVE Mexican food. This soup was really easy to make. You have to make the garnishing because that's what makes it good... especially the fried tortilla strips. They taste just like the chips from the Mexican restaurant. I cut them in strips and put them in a skillet with maybe 2-3 TBSP corn oil. Keep flipping until crispy and golden.

Ingredients:

1 small onion, quartered

3 TBSP corn oil

4 corn tortillas, finely chopped

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro

2 and 1/4 cups tomato puree (this ended up being 2 cans of 10 and 3/4 ounces)

2 quarts (8 cups) chicken broth

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 bay leaves

2-3 cups shredded chicken (just boil the chicken until it's very tender & falls apart easily)

Salt to taste

2 avocados, coarsely chopped for garnish

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese for garnish

3 corn tortillas, cut into strips and fried for garnish

Directions:

Place the onion in a food processor and pulse until pureed. Heat the corn oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add 4 chopped tortillas, the garlic, and cilantro. Saute for 2 minutes or until the tortillas are soft. Stir in the pureed onion and tomato puree and bring to a boil. Stir in the broth, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low.

Simmer for 45 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the chicken and salt and simmer for 5 minutes longer or until heated through. Discard the bay leaves and ladle the soup into soup bowls. Garnish with the avocados, cheese and fried tortilla strips.

Makes 16 cups