Sopa de Tortilla
Prep time: 1 hour
Serves: 4 as a modest meal
Ingredients:
one ancho chili (alternate: pasilla or chipotle chilis - careful; chipotles are hot)
one avocado
half cup of queso fresca or (alternate: feta)
4 corn tortillas
3 medium sized tomatoes
1/2 medium sized onion
2 cloves of garlic
4 cups of chicken stock (alternate: water or vegetable stock)
spring of fresh epazote (alternate: one teaspoon of dried epizote)
sour cream
key limes (alternate: regular limes)
Process:
Soak one ancho chili until soft, remove stem and seeds and cut into strips.
Prepare an avocado by cutting in half, removing the pit, scooping it out of its shell and slicing into strips.
Crumble a half cup of queso fresca.
Cut 4 fresh corn tortillas into 1/4 inch strips and fry in hot oil until crisp (2 -3 minutes). Remove and reserve on paper towel.
Fry half of the ancho strips in hot oil until crisp (2 -3 minutes). Remove and reserve on paper towel. Crumble
Oven roast or bbq until charred:
- 3 medium sized tomatoes (20 minutes)
- 1/2 medium sized onion (10 minutes)
- 2 cloves of garlic (5 minutes)
And blender into a smooth paste
Saute the paste until it darkens in colour and thickens (about 5 minutes)
Add 4 cups of chicken stock, couple of springs of fresh epazote (or one teaspoon of dried) and the other half of the chopped ancho strips. Bring to near boil and then simmer for 15 minutes.
Divide the tortilla strips, cheese, and avocado into 4 large soup bowls.
Ladle the soup into the bowls and serve with the crumbled chilis, sour cream and quartered key limes on the side.
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