Vegetarian Tortilla Soup With Avocado-Corn Salsa

Photo Courtesy of Brad Lovejoy

I have always been a fan of tortilla soup but finding a recipe that doesn't include chicken is close to impossible. When I ran across this recipe in my favorite vegetarian soup cookbook, I was ecstatic, to say the least, but also puzzled by how I could have overlooked it prior to today. I received this cookbook for a wedding gift 6 1/2 years ago so one would think that I would have noticed the recipe by now. I guess I need to stare at something multiple times or get hit over the head with it in order to take notice. :) The important thing is that I found the recipe now. I was excited to try a chickenless version of tortilla soup that still seemed to include classic ingredients. The added bonus is the soup's topping; avocado-corn salsa. Recipe follows:

Ingredients:

Salsa-

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

2 tsp minced fresh jalapeno chili, or to taste

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp sugar

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/2 inch dice

1/4 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

2 Tbsp minced red onion

2 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Soup-

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup coarsely chopped onion

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded, deribbed and coarsely chopped

1 celery stalk with leaves, coarsely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ground cumin

3 cups vegetable stock

1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans or black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

pinch of red pepper flakes

2 Tbsp minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

salt to taste

Tortilla Strips-

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 6-inch tortillas, halved and cut into 1/4" strips

To make salsa, whisk together oil, lime juice, jalapeno, garlic and sugar in small bowl. Gently stir in avocado, corn, red onion and cilantro. Season to taste, set aside.

To make soup, heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, celery and leaves, and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Add cumin; stir for about 30 seconds. Stir in vegetable stock, tomatoes, beans, pepper and red pepper flakes. Increase heat to high and bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in parsley and salt. Taste and adjust seasoning.

To prepare tortilla strips, heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add tortilla strips in single layer. Cook, turning occasionally with tongs, until strips are lightly browned and crispy, about 10 minutes. Transfer strips to plate lined with paper towel. Top each bowl of soup with tortilla strips and mound of salsa.

First of all, I am going to come clean and admit that I used pre-made, all-natural tortilla strips. The strips I chose contain canola oil, tortillas and sea salt but most importantly, they have no trans-fat. I was going to prepare strips from scratch but I haven't yet bonded with the idea of pan frying starches in oil. I decided that it worked best for me to use natural pre-made tortilla strips. Second of all, although this recipe is from a vegetarian cookbook, I used organic low-sodium chicken stock in lieu of vegetable stock because I already had it in my cupboard. If you prefer to maintain the vegetarian status of this soup, go ahead and use vegetable stock per the recipe. Either option is acceptable.

The final result was delicious. I was a bit skeptical about the broth flavor while tasting to determine how much salt and pepper was needed, but once the salsa and tortilla strips were added, the soup was near perfection. I was particularly fond of the garbanzo beans. The recipe provided the option of garbanzo beans or black beans but I chose garbanzo beans because it seemed like the less obvious choice. I loved the slightly crunchy texture the beans added to the soup and I am certain that black beans would not have provided the same texture. I also thought the avocado-corn salsa brought the perfect level of acidity and creaminess to the soup while the cumin provided just the right level of spiciness. Creamy plus acidic plus crunchy plus spicy equals just plain tasty....... a recipe for success.

Recipe Source:

"A Beautiful Bowl of Soup" by Paulette Mitchell

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