Soup for Lunch

There’s a great barbecue restaturant in Redlands called Slim Pig’n’s, which I’ve written about here. I’ve been on the lookout for a recipe for tortilla soup that’s similar to theirs.

Earlier this week, Randi of Culinary Adventures posted about some tortilla soup with chiptotle shrimp that she’d made; she got the recipe from Cuisine at Home Soups and Splendid Sides magazine. Without posting the recipe, she described the basic steps she took to making the soup, and I decided I had to try to come up with a recipe that was similar to what she made, since it seemed a lot like the one at Slim Pig’n’s. Mine doesn’t have any meat in it, though you could add chicken or shrimp if you want.

Here it is!

Creamy Tortilla Soup

1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
4 cups chicken broth
1 tsp dried cilantro
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp regular chili powder
1 15.25-ounce can corn, drained
1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained (next time I’ll use black beans, but I didn’t have any in the cupboard)
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 4-ounce can chopped green chilies
2 6-inch corn tortillas, torn in small pieces
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup sour cream

Sauté onion, cumin, coriander, and garlic in oil until onion softens. Add chicken broth, cilantro, chili powders, corn, beans, tomatoes, green chilies, and torn tortilla pieces. Bring to a boil, and cook over medium heat 10-20 minutes. Stir flour into sour cream; add sour cream to soup. Stir with a whisk until all lumps are gone and heat another 5 minutes without boiling. Serve topped with grated cheese and crispy tortilla strips (or do what I did, which was to use broken-up tortilla chips). Makes 6 servings.

food & drink