Tortilla Soup 20-05-15

Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

1 large onion, sliced

8 garlic cloves, minced

6 Tablespoons vegetable oil, plus additional for

frying tortillas

7 green chiles, stemmed and seeded

4 cups water

5 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

8 cups chicken broth

Salt and Pepper to taste

12 corn tortillas, cut into strips

1-1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

2 avocados

Directions:

In a stock pot, cook onion and garlic in 4 Tablespoons oil over medium heat, stirring until soft. Increase heat and add chiles, stirring to avoid burning. Cook for 1 minute or until soft. Remove 1 chile and cut into 10 strips, reserve for garnish.

To the pot, add 4 cups water and tomatoes and bring the liquid to a boil. Simmer mixture for 30 minutes.

In a blender, puree the mixture in batches.

In pot, heat 2 Tablespoons of remaining oil over medium heat until hot, but not smoking. Return the puree and cook, stirring for 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, salt and pepper. Simmer soup for 15 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat 1/2-inch of additional oil over high heat until hot, but not smoking. Fry the tortilla strips in batches, stirring for 30 seconds until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Divide fried tortillas among 10 heated bowls. Pour the soup over them and top each one with 1 strip of the reserved chile. Sprinkle each serving with some shredded cheese and top soup with sliced avocado wedges.

Note: Serve with warm buttered tortillas and a fresh fruit salad.

Serves: 10