Tex Mex Favorite - The Best Tortilla Soup Ever

Soup Ingredients:

3 Tbs. corn oil
4 corn tortillas, cut into long strips
8 or fewer cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups chopped onions (Fearing uses the same amount of
fresh onion purée.)
4 cups tomato purée (Fearing uses fresh.)
5 dried New Mexican green chiles (or Anaheim chiles) or
substitute one 4-oz.) can chopped green chiles
1 or 2 jalapeno chiles, chopped and seeds discarded
1 Tbs. ground cumin
2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro (Fearing uses 1 Tbs. chopped epazote,
which is an herb sold in most Hispanic markets.)
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 large bay leaf
6 cups chicken stock
salt to taste
lemon juice to taste
cayenne pepper to taste, optional
1 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and cut into
thin strips

Garnish Ingredients:

3 Tbs. corn oil
4 or more corn tortillas, cut into thin strips and fried crisp
(Use remainder of tortilla package)
1 large avocado, peeled, seeded and cut into small cubes
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preparation:

To make the soup: Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the strips from four tortillas and the garlic, then saute until the tortillas are crisp and the garlic is golden brown, about four to five minutes. Add the chopped onion and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally until reduced by half. Add the tomato puree, chiles, cumin, cilantro, coriander, bay leaf and chicken stock. Bring to a boil.

Lower the heat and simmer for about 40 minutes. Skim the fat from the surface if necessary. If desired, process through a food mill to attain a smooth consistency or use a blender. (It's also good chunky.) If the soup becomes too thick, thin with additional chicken stock. Season to taste with salt, lemon juice and optional cayenne.

Add the chicken just to heat through.

To make the garnish: Meanwhile, in another pan, heat the oil and cook remaining tortilla strips until lightly brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

To assemble soup: Remove the bay leaf. Ladle the soup into warm bowls. Garnish each bowl equally with avocado, shredded cheddar cheese and crispy tortilla strips. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings