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Recipe Detail Page
Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
Holiday 2020
You’ll have to hit your local Mexican market to source the dried peppers for this deeply flavourful soup; the end result is well worth it. It’s caliente but the cooling toppings soothe while adding extra texture. To make it vegan skip the cheese garnish, and to make it heartier, use chicken stock and add some shredded chicken at the end.
Serves 6 to 8
6 dried guajillo peppers
2 dried ancho peppers
3 dried pasilla peppers
1 medium white onion, peeled
3 roma tomatoes
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 fried corn tortilla (see TIP)
10 cups (2.5 L) vegetable stock
Salt to taste
GARNISH
1 cup (250 mL) fried corn tortilla strips, from 2 to 3 tortillas
1 cup (250 mL) diced cotija or queso fresco
2 sliced avocados
1/2 cup (125 mL) fresh epazote leaves or cilantro
2 limes, wedged
1. Remove and discard veins and seeds from all of the chilies. Once cleaned, place prepared peppers in a bowl. Pour boiling water overtop to cover. Let them rehydrate and soften for 20 to 30 minutes. Once soft, drain and discard all but 1 cup (250 mL) of liquid and blend peppers and liquid until smooth. Strain into a medium bowl through a fine mesh sieve. Set aside.
2. Roast the onion, tomatoes and garlic until charred on all sides. You can do this over a stovetop gas flame, under the broiler, or on the barbecue. Add all charred ingredients to the blender and blitz until smooth, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into the bowl with the chili peppers.
3. Clean and dry blender then add the fried tortilla and blend until it becomes a powder. Set aside. This is the thickening agent for the soup.
4. In a medium pot, bring vegetable stock to a simmer and slowly stir in the vegetable-chilies purée. Add the powdered tortilla to thicken. Season to taste. Simmer soup for 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Ladle soup into bowls and top with fried tortilla strips, diced cotija cheese, sliced avocado and some chopped epazote or cilantro and lime. Enjoy at once.
Serves 6 to 8
TIP You can buy fried corn tortillas (called tostadas) or you can make your own by frying tortillas in shallow oil until crisp.
