5 Days Of Soup: Sopa De Tortilla

We are four days into our soup pact. Are you still in? We are holding strong over here at Flat 521. And by we, I mean me. The boys secretly ate slices of pizza last night. Alright, and maybe I did, too. But it wasn't like it was midnight in front of the refrigerator. Alright, it was.

Anyway.

Tonight. Soup.

Sopa De Tortilla

5 tbsp sunflower oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1lb tomatoes, peeled
1.5 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
1 or 2 dried poblano chiles, seeded
2 soft corn tortillas, cut into strips
3 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
salt & freshly ground black pepper
3oz Gruyere cheese, grated
2 limes, cut into wedges, to serve

 1) Heat 1 tbsp of the sunflower oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic & stir for 30 seconds. using a blender, process tomatoes until smooth.

2) Add the tomato-onion puree to the pan & simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in the stock & bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, partially cover the pain, & simmer for 15 minutes or until thickened.

3) Place a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add the chiles & press them flat against the pain with a spatula until they blister, then repeat on the other side. Remove the pan, cut the peppers into small pieces, & set aside.

4) Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan until sizzling hot. Add the tortilla strips in batches and fry until just crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon or drain on paper towels.

5) When ready to serve, add the chiles to the soup, bring to a boil, & simmer for 3 minutes, or until the chiles are soft. Stir in the cilantro & lime juice & season with salt & pepper. Divide the toasted tortilla strips between the 4 soup bowls. Ladle in the soup and top with a sprinkling of cheese. Serve with wedges of lime.

Sidenote: You could also add shredded chicken into the soup, if that's your kind of thing.

Doesn't this sound so much better than pizza at midnight? Wink!

P.S. Recipes from here. And Days One, Two & Three.

{Photo credit: Honey & Jam}