Summer Soup -- Chunky Tortilla Soup

Ok, ok... you guys made me feel bad for not posting. I've actually taken photos of several of the things I've made lately, but I just keep forgetting to post them. Anyhow, this was one of my more recent recipe trials. It's another recipe from Lucid Food... so consider it both healthy for you and the planet. I really love this book because it forces me to try new flavors and ingredients, although some of the recipes are hard to follow to the letter: they aren't all that technically difficult, but the ingredients can sometimes be hard to find unless you have an Asian market, a Hispanic foods market, a stunning farmer's market, and a Whole Foods right around the corner (which the author probably does, since she lives in New York). This made for a considerable challenge back in Tennessee, where the most exotic things at Kroger were the tahini and canned chipotle chiles in adobo (which I couldn't even find all of the time). Fortunately now, I'm in the DC metro area --where perhaps the biggest culinary asset is the ethnic diversity-- and the international foods aisle at the local discount grocery store is two whole aisles with a small refrigerator/freezer section, and that doesn't even include the chips and salsa (which are more appropriately located with the other conventional American foods).

Anyhow, back on the task at hand, this soup recipe really intrigued me because it doesn't call for a single drop of broth, be it meat-based or otherwise... not one single drop. The flavor comes from boiling the corn cobs (so fresh corn is a must, hence the reason this is most def a summer soup in most places) and the juice of the fresh tomatoes that go in it. It's a little messy to make, but otherwise pretty straight forward. You can cook your own black beans or use canned (drained and rinsed well), and don't be shy with the salt... remember the no-broth thing, so there is really no sodium in this other than what you put in it, and you won't be able to taste it unless you do. But when you can taste it... yum!

Liz, I don't know how readily available queso fresco is to you, but use it if at all possible-- it's delicious!! Otherwise you can substitute any mild white cheese (think farmer's cheese or monterrey jack, if you must). Also, I used hand-made (not by me) corn tortillas, simply because I could, but I actually think this would be better with the thin, American-ized ones that come in packs of 4,000.

So here goes...

Chunky Tortilla Soup, from Lucid Food by Louisa Shafia

Serves 4

Three 6 inch corn tortillas

3 Tablespoons olive oil

5 ripe tomatoes

1 yellow onion, minced

1 1/2 cups cooked black beans

3 ears fresh corn, kernels removed and cobs reserved

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons chile powder

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup crumbled queso fresco

1 ripe avocado, pitted, peeled, and thinly sliced

Leaves from 1 bunch fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

2 limes, quartered

1 jalapeno, seeded and thinly sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or foil).

Cut tortillas in half, then into 1/2 inch strips. Place the strips in a bowl and toss with 1 Tbsp of olive oil, then spread onto the baking sheet. Bake until crisp, approx 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside.

Position a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl. Core and halve the tomatoes and scoop out the seeds, holding them over the strainer so all of the juice falls into the bowl. Press the seeds with a a ladle or spoon to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the seeds and set the juice aside. Dice the tomatoes.

Heat a soup pot and add the remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil. Add the onion and saute until soft, then stir in the tomatoes, black beans, corn kernels, garlic, and chile powder. Add the tomato juice, 3 cups water, and corn cobs. If the pot is small, break the cobs in half to fit. Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove the corn cobs. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve soup topped with several tortilla strips, 1/4 cup of queso fresco, a few avocado slices, and small handful of cilantro. Serve lime* and jalapeno slices on the side.

* We didn't use the limes because I didn't really see the need, but do as you will.