TORTILLA SOUP: MEAL IN ITSELF

On a cold wintery evening when you wrap your hands around the bowl of hot soup, it not only warms up your hands but your heart too.  Like Louise P. DeGouy, Waldorf-Astoria chef, wrote about soup:

"It breathes reassurance, it offers consolation; after a weary day it promotes sociability... There is nothing like a bowl of hot soup, it's a wisp of aromatic steam teasing the nostrils into quivering anticipation."

The evidence of the existence of soup can be traced back to about 20,000 BC. Boiling was not a common cooking technique until the invention of waterproof containers, which probably came in the form of clay vessels.

Commercial soup became popular with the invention of canning in the 19th century, and today a great variety of canned and dried soups are available in the market.  All you have to do is to add water and give it a boil.

Mostly soup is taken as a prelude to what is coming next, but there are soups which are complete meal.  All you need is some crackers or not even that to fill you up.  One such soup is Tortilla Soup which is very flavorful and filling. 

Tortilla soup is generally made with black beans and corn but if you don't have black beans you may use black eyed beans(lobhia beans). If you like to eat salsa and tortilla chips, you will love this soup as you get both in this bowl of soup.  This soup has fiber and protein and is low in fat. It is healthy to eat and easy to cook. 

Ingredients:

2 tbsp cooking oil, 1 medium onion chopped finely, 3 cloves garlic minced, 1 small green bell pepper diced, 1 small red bell pepper diced, 2 medium tomatoes chopped finely, salt a pinch,

1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp red pepper powder,  1/2 cup salsa, 2 cups vegetable broth, 2 cups water, 1 cup  black beans or black eyed beans boiled in salt water but drained, 1 cup whole kernel corn boiled in salt water but drained, 1 cup tortilla chips, 1 medium lemon, 1 tbsp ketchup, 1/4 cup grated white cheddar cheese.

Method:

Heat oil in a large pan. Add onion, garlic and a pinch of salt. Sauté till onion turn translucent.

Add green and red peppers and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add cumin and red pepper powder and stir.  Add broth and water and let it boil. 

After a boil let it simmer for 10 minutes. 

Now add salsa, ketchup, beans and corn and let it simmer for another 15 minutes.

Before serving squeeze lemon juice in the pot.

In every soup cup, put some tortilla chips and garnish with little cheddar cheese.

 NOTE: You don't have to buy salsa from the store. The recipe of tomato salsa is given in my blog of January 9, 2012.  You can make salsa even a day or two in advance.