+GF +SF
Taking a spoonful of this soup truly transports you to your favorite Mexican restaurants, or even Mexico! Having taken many family vacations to Mexico, living in Chicago (which has great Mexican food by the way), and just generally being obsessed with this comforting cuisine, we had to create a vegan version of our favorite tortilla soup. —LM + AM
SERVES 4
1 jalapeño pepper
1 tbsp (15 ml) avocado oil
1 large Vidalia onion, minced
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
2 bell peppers, cored, seeded and minced
3 cloves garlic
1½ tsp (3 g) ground cumin
2 tsp (5 g) smoked paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
½ cup (120 ml) white wine (feel free to replace with vegetable broth if needed)
3 cups (720 ml) vegetable broth
1 tsp lime juice
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped
1½ tsp (8 g) sea salt
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup (246 ml) canola oil
3 corn tortillas
TOPPINGS
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
½ cup (20 g) fresh cilantro
Roast the jalapeño over an open flame or in a 400°F (204°C) oven until the skin is blackened and blistered. This should take about 8 minutes per side, turning halfway through, in the oven. Once you remove the jalapeño from the flame or the oven, place the pepper on a plate and cover with a bowl. Allow the jalapeño to steam. Set aside.
Heat the avocado oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Once the oil is heated, add the onion and the carrot. Cook for 5 minutes while stirring occasionally.
Add the bell peppers and cook for another 5 minutes or until the onion begins to caramelize. Stir occasionally to avoid scorching the vegetables.
Turn the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, cumin, smoked paprika and oregano. Stir well to thoroughly combine.
At this point, add the wine to deglaze the pan and stir well. Once deglazed, add the vegetable broth and lime juice. Stir the mixture to combine.
While letting the flavors of the soup sit together, scrape the blistered skin off the jalapeño pepper and remove the seeds. We suggest tasting the pepper a bit before putting the whole thing into the pot. Jalapeño peppers can vary in heat, so add as much or as little as you want according to your heat preference.
Add the tomato, salt and pepper, and stir to combine.
Allow the soup to simmer over low heat while you prep the tortilla crisps.
Heat the canola oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. While it is heating, slice the tortillas into small strips. Test the heat of the oil by dropping in a small piece of tortilla. When the tortilla sizzles, you can add the first third of the tortilla strips. Stir the strips to separate them. When the tortilla sticks turn golden brown and start to curl, remove them from the oil and place them on a plate lined with paper towels.
Repeat this process until all of the tortilla strips are fried.
Once the tortilla crisps are done, use an immersion blender to blend the soup until it’s thick and creamy.
Garnish the soup with the fried tortilla matchsticks, avocado slices and fresh cilantro.