Recipe: Texas Tortilla Soup

This recipe was included in a cookbook club offer.

Texas Tortilla Soup

For the soup:

8 plum tomatoes
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium-size yellow onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 dried ancho chile pepper
1 (15-ounce) can peeled tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cooked, shredded chicken breasted
3 ears fresh corn or one (8-oz.) package frozen corn (optional)

For garnish:

2 ripe avocados, peeled and sliced
Tortilla chips or strips
2 plum tomatoes, diced
cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Sour cream (optional)

To make the soup:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the 8 plum tomatoes in half. Spread 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil on a baking sheet or pizza pan and arrange the tomatoes on top, skin side up. Drizzle the tomatoes with another 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil. Roast the tomatoes for 25 to 35 minutes, until the skins wrinkle and the tomatoes are slightly brown around the edges.

Heat the remaining 2 Tablespoons oil in a heavy-bottomed, 4-qt soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and bell pepper and saut about 5 minutes, until the vegetables become soft. Stir in the chili powder and cumin and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and ancho chile. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then cover, decrease the heat and simmer about 15 minutes, until the ancho chile softens. Remove the chile from the soup and pull off and discard the stem. Cut the chile in half and discard the seeds, if desired. (Leaving the seeds in makes for a spicier soup.) Place the softened chile, the canned tomatoes with their juices and the roasted tomatoes (included as much as possible of the juices and browned tomato bits) in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Puree the chile-tomato mixture about 1 minute. Transfer the chile-tomato mixture to the soup and continue simmering, covered, about 1 hour. Add salt and pepper to taste, along with the cooked chicken. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels from the cobs, add the corn to the soup and simmer for 5 minutes. If using frozen corn, add it to the soup and gently heat until corn is hot.

To garnish:

Ladle the soup into medium bowls. Lean 3 to 4 slices of avocado against the edge of each bowl, partially sticking out of the soup. Arrange the tortilla chips or strips in a similar way. Sprinkle each bowl with a handful of diced tomatoes, some cilantro, and 2 Tablespoons of shredded cheese. Top with a spoonful of sour cream. Serve immediately.