Vegetable Tortilla Soup

Perhaps I should have named this blog Soup’s On.  I have posted a lot of soup recipes in this blog’s infancy. I confess that I always have been fascinated with the chemistry of soup. When the recipe is right, the flavors meld in an amazing way.

In any event, it is getting colder. What could be better to soothe your psyche on a cold day than a steaming bowl of soup? Add spice to that soup and you are in heaven. Add a glass of red wine…

This is a tortilla soup that caught my fancy. The original recipe came from a wonderful site called The Curvy Carrot. Here is my adaptation of their recipe.

Recipe: Vegetable Tortilla Soup 

Roasted Tomatoes

2 C. grape tomatoes, sliced lengthwise

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of Salt

Directions for Roasted Tomatoes

Slice tomatoes lengthwise an toss with olive oil and salt. Roast in a shallow pan at 350 degrees F. for 35-40 minutes.

Soup

1 generous T. extra-virgin olive oil

4 minced cloves of garlic

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 t. ground cumin

2 t. ground coriander

1 t. ground chipotle pepper

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1 can (14 ounce) crushed fire-roasted tomatoes

6 C. vegetable broth

Salt to your taste

Directions

Heat olive oil and saute garlic and onion until softened. Add ground cumin, ground coriander, ground chipotle pepper, and cayenne and stir. Add fire-roasted tomatoes. Stir again. Cook for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add one cup broth.  Using an immersion blender or regular blender, puree mixture until smooth. Add remaining five cups of broth and puree again. Return soup to medium heat and cook for  10-15 minutes. Mix in roasted tomatoes. Add salt to your taste.

Serve the soup garnished with a dollop of sour cream, sliced avocado, tortilla strips, and whatever else catches your fancy. I added chopped tomato, a slice of lime, chopped jalapeno, a few radish slices, and a few kernels of corn at the last moment. The soup was perfect to my taste and beautiful at the same time.

Enjoy.

Here is the link to the original recipe on The Curvy Carrot site:

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup