Cold weather, hot soup. Great combination. A long time ago, in the 1990’s, the soup de jour was Tortilla. Dean Fearing (then at the Mansion in Dallas) was famous for his. The base of the soup is chicken stock with pureed tomato, onion and spices. Chopped tortillas are cooked until they break down into the liquid, adding flavor and thickening the stock. The next decision is to strain or not to strain. I don’t, thicker soups seem heartier to me. Go crazy with the toppings: fried tortilla strips, diced red onion, cheddar cheese and sliced avocado.
Soup sometimes doesn’t feel like a complete meal. Beef it up with a little chicken (if that makes sense). While the soup is reducing, I use it to poach a couple chicken breasts. This keeps the meat juicy, puts a little more flavor into the stock and keeps me from having to turn on another burner. Everyone’s a winner.