CSA Week 15 - September 9th - tortilla soup

Tortilla soup is a dish I have been making consistently for years, always tweaking it and adapting it to what I have available. I suppose I could consider it one of my "signature" dishes.

I typically make the soup vegetarian, but last week I added some leftover carnitas pork (I think that was the style) from Gomez salsa. That was pretty amazing.

How is this different from a chili? I don't really know. A few things that distinguish it in my mind are the crispy corn tortillas and cilantro on top as well as the corn in the soup. It's also somewhat lighter and thinner than chili and lacks the tomato base (though it does have tomatoes in it).

As with so many things it is totally customizable. I tend to go all-out with toppings (cheese, sour cream, lime, cilantro, tortilla strips, and avocado), but you certainly don't have to.

Tortilla Soup
Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1-2 bell pepper, chopped
• Minced fresh hot pepper (e.g. 1 seeded jalapeno) to taste (or a couple pinches of dried hot pepper) 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. Mexican oregano, crushed/ground 
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
• 2 cups fresh tomato, diced (or one 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes)
• 1 15-oz can black beans (or about 2 cups) 
• 1.5 cups, or about 12 ounces, frozen or fresh corn (I suppose you could use canned, too, but I've never tried it)
• Cooked pork/chicken or other Mexican-style meat (completely optional) 
• 2-3 tbsp. minced fresh cilantro, divided
• A few pinches of sugar
• Salt to taste
• 5 corn tortillas
• Crumbled Queso Fresco and/or grated Cheddar as toppings 
• Sour cream as topping
• Wedges of lime for serving 

Directions

• Saute onion with a few pinches of salt and sugar in a stock pot over medium heat until soft and somewhat caramelized. 
• Add sweet pepper and hot pepper (if fresh) and saute until soft. 
• Add garlic and spices and saute until fragrant, less than one minute.
• Add 4 cups water or chicken/vegetable broth plus 1 tbsp. cilantro.
• Add tomato, black, beans and corn. 
• Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, about 15 minutes. 
• Meanwhile, prepare the tortillas
• Preheat the oven to 350 F
• Coat the tortillas in a thin layer of oil
• Cut tortillas into 1/2-inch-thick strips
• Spread strips out on a baking sheet and toast 7-15 minutes (depending on the type of tortillas), checking and tossing them every 2-3 minutes. They should be slightly browned and crisp up after being out of the oven for a couple minutes. 
• Taste and add salt if needed. (This will depend on if you use broth and on the salt in any canned veggies you use. When I use water and canned beans I believe I often add around 1 tsp. salt.) Continue simmering to allow flavors to meld. 
• Remove from heat and ladle into bowls. 
• Top with tortillas strips, cilantro, cheese(s), and sour cream