Another Winner!

A couple of weeks ago as I was trying to make my menu for the week I found myself searching the Internet for new ideas, as I often do. I knew I wanted to find a good tortilla soup, but was having a difficult time finding a recipe that looked like I had imagined. Finally I came across this recipe from Wolfgang Puck. It took a little longer than I expected, so next time I would start it earlier in the day and let it simmer down for a couple hours.



Ingredients:

2 ears fresh corn, husks removed

4-5 large garlic cloves, peeled

1 small onion (3 oz) peeled, trimmed and quartered

1 small jalapeno pepper, trimmed and seeded

2 Tbs. corn oil

1 large boneless skinless chicken breast

2 corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch squares

1 pasilla chile pepper, soaked in water (I omitted this since I couldn't find it even at Wegmans)

2 large ripe tomatoes (1 lb.) peeled, seeded, and chopped (I cheated and used canned tomatoes)

2 Tbs. tomato paste

2-3 tsp. ground cumin

2 quarts chicken stock

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper



Garnish:

2 corn tortillas, cut into strips and baked to crispness

1 ripe avocado, diced

1/2 cup grated cheddar

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

sour cream



To Prepare:

Using a large knife, carefully scrape the kernels off the corn cobs and set aside, reserving the cobs.

Using a food processor fitted with a steel blade, or a large knife, coarsely chop the garlic, onion, jalapeno and corn kernels. Reserve (Next time I would only put 1/2 the corn in the food processor since I like having chunks of corn in my soup)

In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat and sear the chicken until just browned on both sides. Add the tortilla squares, and cook over low heat until they are slightly crisp. Stir in the chopped vegetable mixture and pasilla pepper and simmer just until the vegetables are coated with the oil. Do not brown.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and 2 tsp. of the cumin and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes to maximize the flavor. Slowly pour in the stock and cook over low heat until the soup is reduced by 1/3 and the chicken breast is cooked through (this is the part that took longer than expected, and why we were eating dinner at 8:30pm)

Remove the chicken breast and set aside. When cool enough to handle, slice chicken into very thin strips. Meanwhile, puree the soup in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth.(again...I like a little more chunkyness, so I didn't puree it all.) Add the chicken to the pureed soup.

Ladle the soup into soup bowls and garnish with tortillas, avocados, cheese, sour cream, and cilantro.



* Here's the note at the end of the recipe that I should have read, since I ended up with a very dirty towel and soup all over the kitchen...

When blending hot liquids, remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine. Pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.



I served this with homemade corn chips, which was delicious. Enjoy!