Tortilla Soup

By Misa Misono

In my post-Thanksgiving haze, I was looking for something warm and satisfying but with a completely different taste profile than traditional American fare. I also had a lot of leftover turkey to use. I turned to one of my favorite recipes—tortilla soup.

My version of tortilla soup requires little preparation and is easy to adapt to your tastes: add more salsa for increased heat or omit the meat for a vegetarian meal. By making use of pre-made salsa, frozen vegetables, and canned broth, it’s a 15-minute meal that is cheap, easy to make, and delicious. It’s also a great recipe to test out your culinary improvisation skills—adding a new vegetable (carrots would be great) or putting in some Mexican chili powder for extra heat and depth of flavor—without ruining dinner and suffering your significant other’s wrath.

This recipe is forgiving, adaptable, and can be made with as many or as few ingredients as you have on hand. Tortilla soup is a perfect meal for the cold, damp, Durham weather and perusing the stack of Wall Street Journals that have been piling up.

Shopping notes:
Purchase low-sodium chicken broth. Buy frozen instead of canned vegetables for this and other soup recipes; the flavor will be better and there are usually no preservatives in frozen vegetables.

Cooking tools:
Medium saucepan

Tip: Make this recipe vegetarian by using vegetable broth and omitting the meat (or replacing it with firm tofu or small dice potatoes). Store unused portion of frozen vegetables in freezer in plastic containers or freezer strength Ziploc bags.

Ingredients:
1 ½ (15 oz) cans low sodium chicken broth
1 medium garlic clove
¼ cup frozen corn
1/3 cup frozen bell pepper strips
1/3 (15 oz) can of black or pinto beans, rinsed with water
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
1-2 chopped green onions/scallions

1/8 cup shredded cheese of your preference (I like sharp cheddar)
1 bag of tortilla chips
1-4 Tablespoons salsa, depending on your desired spiciness
salt and pepper to taste

Optional:
½ cup shredded turkey or chicken
½ small avocado, sliced

Pour chicken broth into saucepan, and heat on medium-high. Wash green onion and cut into small pieces with a scissors, directly into the pan. Smash garlic clove with side of large knife or fist; place into pan. Add cumin and coriander. Let cook for 3 minutes.

Rinse beans thoroughly in a colander to prevent a metallic taste. Add corn, bell peppers, turkey, and beans to soup. Bring to a boil, then immediately turn down to medium-low and let simmer for 5-10 minutes to allow flavors to meld.

Meanwhile, prepare your soup bowl. Smash chips to bite size pieces with your hands and place in bottom of bowl. Sprinkle with cheese and put desired amount of salsa on top. Remove clove of garlic from soup and discard.

Ladle hot soup over the bowl, place avocado slices in soup, stir, and enjoy!

Optional side: quesadillas, made with tortillas and your favorite cheese.

Serves 1-2, depending on your appetite!