Cinco de Mayo is around the corner and while we can’t go woop it up at our local Mexican joint ( I miss you restaurant style salsa) we can definitely make due with homemade Mexican food and tequila shots. This homemade tortilla soup recipe is easy, delicious and depending on your preferences can be adjustable for vegans. It’s also a great hangover soup for after the cinco de drinko.
Like every recipe on The Feisty Palate I recommend to MAKE IT YOUR OWN. So taste test as you go with condiments and feel free to modify for dietary restrictions.
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Roma tomatoes ( 10 to 12)
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 White onion
- 1/4 Green pepper
- Salt
- pepper
- Chicken stock ( can be from scratch or store bought)
- Chicken stock
- 1 Chicken breast
- 1/2 Onion
- 1/2 Green Pepper
- 2 cloves Garlic
- Salt
- Cumin
- Paprika
- Toppings
- Tortilla chips
- Crema
- Quesillo or mozarella cheese
- Avocado
- Bacon
- Chicharron
- Chopped chicken
Instructions
If you choose to make the chicken stock from scratch add your chicken breast with onion, green pepper and garlic to a pot of water. Season the water with salt, pepper, cumin and paprika. Remember this is the stock you’ll use for the soup which will give it depth of flavor so make sure you season to your preference. Boil on medium heat until chicken is cooked through. Strain the stock until you get clear liquid and put aside.
This part is where you have options. You can modify this recipe to be vegan therefore use vegetable stock. If you are short on time you can use ready made chicken stock the only catch is you wont have shredded chicken to add as a topping afterwards.
For the tomato base grossly chop up the tomatoes and put in the blender. Add 2 cloves garlic, 1 onion and about a fourth green pepper. Blend until it’s liquid. In a big pot add olive oil enough to lightly cover the floor of the pan. And add the tomato base. Cover the pot and turn the stove to high.
This is where it gets tricky. The point of this is to dehydrate the sauce so you get a thick, rich tomato base and then rehydrate with the chicken stock. Make sure to stir the sauce occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the pot. You can turn the heat down when you’re going to stir as it will be bubbling to avoid getting burned.
Keep this up for about 20 or 30 min or until the tomato base is thick. Once this is done you can add the chicken stock and season the soup with salt and pepper to your liking.
Honestly my favorite part is building the thing. Remember that delicious chicken breast you put aside to cool off? While the soup simmers on low its time to shred the chicken. At this time you can also fry some bacon or chicharrones or use store bought bagged chicharrones. I think the measure of what you use is how healthy do you want to be? Personally my favorite way of making it is with plenty of cheese, crema, tortilla chips and avocado.
This soup is guaranteed to either warm up your appetite for some tacos or soothe it after some cinco de drinko.
