Christina’s Quick and Easy Tortilla Soup

I met Maisie one day in 1996 whilst walking into a Pic’N’Save store in North Hollywood because I heard that they had Penguin bars in stock. I was walking in, and she was walking out, so I held the door open for the flaxen haired lady with bright pink lipstick. She gave me a strong Scottish “thank you!” so I asked where she was from.

She proudly announced, “Scotland!”

I responded, “I know! Which part of Scotland?”

“Glasgow!” she declared. 

“Me too!” I told her, to which she responded, “A stranger from home is better than a friend who’s not.”

And that was the beginning of our wonderful friendship which lasted until she died many years later. She came with me to farmer’s markets, the beach, attended my children’s school events, birthdays, and even flew to Michigan to my parents’ house when we were visiting one year!

I threw her a surprise party when she became a US citizen, and she quite simply became part of our family.

Maisie loved the beach, and was elated to go whenever I suggested it. On this particular day, we went to a Mexican restaurant near the Santa Barbara pier for lunch. When I perused the menu, I noticed that all the main dishes came with tortilla soup, or an iceberg lettuce salad as a starter.  Well, I have to admit at that time I was ignorant about tortilla soup. As I thought it was made using tortillas–the image in my head of mushy, boiled tortillas was off-putting!

However, as disgusting as I thought it might be, it was the lesser of the two evils, in my opinion. This is because you’d have to pay me a lot of money to eat iceberg lettuce! I can’t stand the stuff and it hurts my stomach.

So, I ordered my main dish with the tortilla soup, and out it came, looking quite enticing. It was a light orange colored broth with a few cut veggies and long, thin strips of fried flour tortillas atop the soup. “Interesting,” I thought, then I took my first taste. That was all it took: I was hooked!

It was so unexpectedly delicious, as was the cheese hiding below! On the bottom of the bowl, beneath the veggies and crisp tortilla strips was some sort of wonderfully gooey cheese! My friend Maisie was just as taken with the soup as I was!

Another soup with gooey cheese: French Onion Soup

It was love at first spoonful, and in fact, to this day, I remember asking the waitress to box up my entire main course as I didn’t want to spoil the taste of the soup (and it had actually filled me up quite nicely).

The following recipe is my version of the soup which I had in Santa Barbara. I have made it for lots of company. I have also brought Trader Joe’s Truly Handmade Tortillas (my favorite) to England, and made the soup for about 10 relatives when we were all gathered at my Aunt Rosa’s house! I based the recipe on a type of rice dish a friend from South America had taught me to make, blending the tomatoes, onion and garlic together.

Speaking of Trader Joe’s, here’s my copycat recipe for their 4 Cheese Diner Mac & Cheese!

Everyone seems to enjoy this soup as much as I do! And FYI, it’ll practically take you longer to read my long-winded intro than it takes to actually make the soup!

I’ve had tortilla soup in Mexico several times, and if you prefer, you can blend the soup instead of leaving the vegetables chunky. I love it both ways.

If you try this recipe, please let me know by leaving a review below (click the 5 stars above the PRINT button), and if you have a question, please leave it in the COMMENTS since I cannot respond to reviews. ¡Gracias!

Add the veggies to the soup and let simmer until the potato is cooked. Check for salt, and add if needed. If it doesn’t taste incredibly delicious, it needs more salt. That’s it–soup’s ready!

I never measure anything when I make this soup, because you really can’t mess it up. In summer, I use less tomato and onion and more water to make a more brothy soup. In winter, I like it heartier, so I use more veggies and less water to thicken the consistency. You can add some hot sauce to the pot if everyone’s game, if not, just pass it around.

Crispy Tortilla Strips (Flour or Corn)

My favorite flour tortillas are Trader Joe’s Truly Handmade. If you don’t have a TJ’s nearby, just make sure the tortillas don’t have tons of chemicals and artificial ingredients.

Pan fry the strips (I use a pizza cutter to cut them easily and quickly) in a small amount of olive oil, then drain on a paper towel.

If using corn tortillas, I suggest using the smaller ones and cut into very thin strips. These are easier to deep fry, but you can do it in a small pot so you won’t need much oil.

Place on a paper towel lined plate until needed.

Serve the Tortilla Soup

Start by putting some cheese in the bottom of each bowl. If using crispy corn tortilla strips, mound them up in the center of the bowl, and don’t be shy. If using flour tortillas, those will be added after adding the soup.

Ladle the soup into the bowl.

Top the soup with freshly fried flour tortilla strips if that’s what you’re using.

This will quickly become a family favorite!

NOTES: This soup is great as leftovers as it’s assembled just before serving. If you’d like to freeze tortilla soup, I’d suggest freezing the base (the puréed tomato, onion and garlic) for best results.

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Christina's Quick and Easy Tortilla Soup

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

A soup inspired from a Mexican restaurant I visited many years ago. SO tasty and easy to make!

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Ingredients

• one medium onion, cut into quarters
• 2 or 3 cloves of garlic
• 2 or 3 medium roma tomatoes (or about 3/4 cup tomato puree or tinned tomatoes)
• (optional, 1/2 fresh jalapeño, if you like a spicy soup)
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 5 cups water plus 2 teaspoons Reduced Sodium Chicken Better Than Bouillon (OR 5 cups chicken broth)
• 2 small potatoes (or one large)
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 small zucchini (courgette)
• salt

To Serve:

• olive oil
• fresh, flour tortillas, cut into thin strips about 1/2" wide (or corn tortillas, cut into very thin strips - corn tortillas will make the soup gluten free)
• grated mozzarella, Monterey Jack or queso fresco cheese
• Tabasco (or your favorite brand) hot sauce

Instructions

Prepare the Tortilla Soup Base

1. Put the tomatoes, onion and garlic in a blender (if you like spicy, throw in a bit of jalapeño, too). Hit BLEND or whatever button will do the business, and puree the heck out of those veggies! It will have a salmon-pink color at first, but will turn red once it starts to cook.
2. Put the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pot and turn the heat onto medium high. Next, pour the puree into the hot oil in the pot. Stir, and let simmer for about 3 or 4 minutes. It will turn a bright red color.
3. Next, add the water, bouillon (or stock), about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil. Let the soup simmer for about five minutes, while you chop the veggies.

Prepare the Vegetables

1. Slice the zucchini into small rounds, half slices or quarters, depending on how big your zucchini are (in diameter). Do the same with the carrots, and dice the potato. The goal is to try to make all the vegetables the same size.
2. Add the veggies to the soup and let simmer until the potato is cooked. Check for salt, and add if needed. If it doesn’t taste incredibly delicious, it needs more salt. That’s it–soup’s ready!

Crispy Tortilla Strips (Flour or Corn)

1. My favorite flour tortillas are Trader Joe’s Truly Handmade. If you don’t have a TJ’s nearby, just make sure the tortillas don’t have tons of chemicals and artificial ingredients.
2. Pan fry the strips (I use a pizza cutter to cut them easily and quickly) in a small amount of olive oil, then drain on a paper towel.
3. If using corn tortillas, I suggest using the smaller ones and cut into very thin strips. These are easier to deep fry, but you can do it in a small pot so you won’t need much oil.
4. Place on a paper towel lined plate until needed.

Serve the Tortilla Soup

1. Start by putting some cheese in the bottom of each bowl. If using crispy corn tortilla strips, mound them up in the center of the bowl, and don’t be shy. If using flour tortillas, those will be added after adding the soup.
2. Ladle the soup into the bowl. Top the soup with freshly fried flour tortilla strips if that’s what you’re using.

ENJOY!

Notes

• I never measure anything when I make this soup, because you really can’t mess it up. In summer, I use less tomato and onion and more water to make a more brothy soup. In winter, I like it heartier, so I use more veggies and less water to thicken the consistency. You can add some jalapeno to the base, or hot sauce to the pot if everyone’s game, if not, just pass it around.
• I've had tortilla soup in Mexico several times, and if you prefer, you can blend the soup instead of leaving the vegetables chunky. I love it both ways.
• This is great as leftovers as it’s assembled just before serving.
• If you’d like to freeze tortilla soup, I’d suggest freezing the base (the puréed tomato, onion and garlic) for best results.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 bowl
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 330Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 350mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 5gSugar: 5gProtein: 10g

Nutrition information is only estimated.

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