Sopa de Tortilla , also known as Sopa Azteca, is a Mexican classic. It also happens to be one of my favourite dishes and is the ultimate comfort food- to me 🙂

While traditionally it is made with chicken, chicken broth, crema- and sometimes includes pork rinds, this recipe is obviously vegan and captures similar flavours of the real thing…at the best that it can 😀

If avocados are in season, I definitely accompany this soup with diced or thinly sliced wedges of avocado- which is also common practice in Mexico. If not, I add street style roasted corn instead.

Lastly, there are some ingredients unique to this soup such as epazote (a Central American herb with a minty/citrusy/anisey taste) or ancho chiles (which is a dried poblano pepper). But don’t beat yourself up if you can’t get a hold of them. It simply won’t be possible at times- but you’ll still end up getting a fairly decent end result! I replace epazote with cilantro FYI. I also used blue corn tortillas in this recipe 🙂

Sopa de Tortilla

You’ll need:

• 4 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 1 medium white onion, cut into quarters
• 1 large chile ancho, chopped and seeds removed (if available)*
• 4-5 cups of vegetable broth
• 3-4 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 of a scotch bonnet (for a hint of heat)
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Tortillas, cut into strips
• Avocado wedges
• Lime
• Vegetable oil of your choice (preferably something without a very strong flavour to it).

The process:

• In a large pan, add a little oil and fry the tortilla strips until crispy. Remove the tortilla strips and set aside on a plate lined with a paper napkin.
• In the same oil, fry the chopped chiles**. Remove and set aside.
• Place the onions, garlic, scotch bonnet, tomatoes*** with the vegetable broth and the cilantro into a blender.
• Pass this mixture through a sieve, transfer into a pot and cook the soup on low heat for 15 minutes. Add the fried chopped chile ancho at this stage and just a bit of oil. Remember to add the paprika (if you can’t get the chiles), salt & pepper. Taste as you go! 
• Place your topping of choice into your bowl (tortilla strips, avocado, etc) and then pour the soup on top. Squeeze a wedge of lime just before you consume it. Enjoy!

Notes:

 *If you can’t get a hold of chile ancho (which is a dried poblano pepper) in your country, you can use 1 tbsp of paprika powder instead. Ancho chiles bring a smokiness to the soup along with a tad bit of sweetness (sometimes compared to raisins) and a hint of heat. So if you really want to experiment, soak some raisins and add them into the soup too. 

 **Some recipes call for soaking the ancho chiles first (until they are soft), remove the seeds and add this to the blender along with the tomatoes. 

 ***Some recipes also call for roasting the tomatoes prior to blending them. I personally prefer this method 🙂