Tortilla Soup

Few things are more comforting than a bowl of soup on a chilly day. I'm a California native, so when the temps drop down to the late 50s (wuss, I know) you better believe I'm breaking out the stockpot and whipping up something hot. Soups offer soothing warmth, can be really affordable (cheap even!) and there's minimal clean up afterward. Hell, you might even clean out your fridge. It's a win-win situation. If I had to eat through a feed tube for the rest of my days I would drink nothing but this soup. It's like drinking down a cheesy, chicken tamale.

"Chicken" Tortilla Soup

• 5 cups faux chicken stock
• 1 cup cashew cream (recipe follows)
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 6-8 corn tortillas, torn into pieces
• 2-3 Gardein brand "chicken" breasts or 1 pk of Trader Joes' Chicken-less Chicken Strips, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 tablespoons Earth Balance or your favorite vegan margarine
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
• 2 teaspoons dried Mexican oregano
• 2-3 teaspoons fresh ground cumin
• 2-3 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne or chipotle powder (use more or less to your liking)
• salt and pepper to taste
• Splash of fresh lemon juice
• Fresh chopped cilantro for garnish
• Other garnishes can be sliced avocado or guacamole, fresh fried tortilla strips, fresh corn kernels or pico de gallo

Method

Place a large stockpot over medium heat. Sprinkle bottom with a pinch of salt and heat for 1 minute. Add the margarine and stir until melted, making sure not to let it burn. Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the can of tomatoes with its juice, bay leaf, cumin, coriander, paprika, oregano, onion powder and granulated garlic. Cook for another 2 minutes then add the "chicken" stock and fresh cilantro. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. Add in the Gardein "chicken" and tortilla pieces and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then add the cashew cream. Continue to simmer another 10 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf. Working in batches, pour the soup into a blender (cover lid with towel and hold down tight! Hot liquid can get pretty explosive.) and blend on high for a few minutes until soup is smooth. Pour back into stockpot, add lemon juice, taste for salt, and keep warm until ready to serve. Ladle into bowls and serve with the above mentioned garnishes.

Serves 4-6


Cashew Cream (from Tal Ronnen's The Conscious Cook)

2 cups raw cashews
Cold water

Method

Rinse cashews thoroughly, cover with cold water and place in a container with lid in the refrigerator overnight or up to 2 days. Make sure to drain and add fresh water if keeping for longer than 1 day.

Drain cashews and rinse under cold water. Place in a blender with enough fresh cold water to cover them by 1 inch. Blend on high for several minutes until completely smooth. Use within 5 days. Makes a great substitute for recipes that call for heavy cream.




















Tips:

If you're using small taqueria-style tortillas, use 8 in the recipe. If you find your soup too thick, just thin out with a little more faux chicken stock. Adjust the spices to your liking and taste for salt.

Frozen Gardein scallopini or breasts can be thrown in frozen. Just cook whole until warmed, remove and chop, then place back into the soup. Done and done!

No Gardein in your town? No worries, this soup is still rad as ever minus the mock meats. It would probably rule with seitan too.

Así es como mi papá lo hace

Much to my delight a lot of the foods I grew up with can be veganized with ease. Chilaquiles are deeply embedded in my soul along with memories of carne asada, machaca and nopales. Those last three will have their time in the spotlight in future posts. For now it's all about my dad's super-easy recipe for some Mexicali comfort food.




Hector's Chilaquiles

• 6 corn tortillas, sliced into chips or the equivalent in tortilla chips
• 1 8oz can tomato sauce
• up to 1/4 C water
• 1/4 C onions, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 ts cumin
• 1/4 ts paprika
• 1/4 ts dried oregano or 1 ts fresh oregano, chopped
  
• 2 TB oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• vegan cheese, as much as you like
• fresh cilantro, optional
  

Method

Over medium/high heat in a hot frying pan add oil, garlic and onions and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the cumin, paprika and oregano, then add the tortillas or chips and thoroughly mix in with the onions, garlic and spices. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the tortillas begin to lightly brown and crisp. Pour tomato sauce plus a small amount of water over tortillas and toss to coat chips evenly. Everything will be soggy at first, but continue cooking until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add a little more water if chips seem too dry. Season with salt and pepper. Top with vegan cheese and fresh cilantro, and serve alongside tofu scramble with refried beans. If you want to get buck wild with this, you can use fancy stewed tomatoes with bell peppers, fresh diced tomatoes, chipotle peppers, etc. I like to keep it simple just like Dad.