Tortilla and Mexican Chorizo Soup

By HeatherS

Ingredients

• 4 roma tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 of a white onion, cut into chunks
• 2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 4 ounces Mexican chorizo, casings removed if present
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 3 sprigs fresh epazote (if you cannot find you can use cilantro will not be as bitter tasting)
• Salt
• 2 fresh pasilla or poblano chile peppers
• 6 6-inch corn tortillas, cut into strips
• 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled, and cubed
• 1/2 cup queso fresco, crumbled (2 ounces)

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 425°F. Place tomatoes, onion, and garlic on a baking sheet. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes or until tomatoes and onion are soft and garlic skins begin to brown. Remove from heat. Peel garlic, discarding the papery skins.

In a blender, combine the roasted tomatoes, onion, and garlic. Cover and blend until the mixture is smooth.

In a large saucepan, heat 1/4 cup of the canola oil over medium heat. Add chorizo; cook about 15 minutes or until brown, using a wooden spoon to break up meat as it cooks. Carefully drain excess fat from saucepan. Remove chorizo from saucepan; set aside.

Add the pureed tomato mixture to the same saucepan; cook until mixture changes color. Add broth and epazote. Season to taste with salt. Cook over medium heat just until boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove soup from heat; cover and keep warm.

Stem and seed chile peppers; cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Set aside.

ine a plate with paper towels; set aside. In a medium skillet, heat the remaining 1/4 cup canola oil over medium heat until very hot but not smoking. Add the sliced chile peppers; turn off the heat. Using a slotted spoon, immediately remove the chile pepper slices from oil and transfer them to the prepared plate. (This step has to be done very fast to prevent the chiles from burning.) Reserve oil in skillet.

Working in batches, fry the tortilla strips in the chile-infused oil until the strips start to brown. Drain tortilla strips on additional paper towels.

Divide fried tortilla strips and cooked chorizo among six soup bowls. Remove epazote from soup and discard. Ladle soup into the soup bowls. Serve soup with avocado, queso fresco, and fried chile pepper slices.