Sopa de Tortilla

• 8 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips and fried crisp
• 5 roma tomatoes, charred on the comal
• 1 white onion, half charred, half finely diced for garnish
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 2 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 1 dried pasilla chile, stemmed and seeded
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying tortillas
• 3 epazote sprigs, fresh
• 8 cups chicken stock, hot
• sea salt, to taste
• 1/2 cup queso fresco, crumbled for garnish
• 1/4 cup Mexican crema for garnish
• 4 dried chile de árbol, whole, fried crisp for garnish
• 1 ripe Hass avocado, sliced for garnish
• 2 lime wedges for serving

1. 1

   Heat the oil in a deep heavy pot over medium-high heat. Fry the tortilla strips in small batches until golden and crisp, about 90 seconds per batch. Drain on paper towels. Drop the whole chiles de árbol into the same hot oil for about 10 seconds until they darken and crisp, then lift them out and drain alongside the strips. Set aside half the tortilla strips for the bowls and half for garnish. The oil should shimmer but not smoke — if the strips darken too fast the whole pot turns bitter.

2. 2

   Pour off all but about two tablespoons of the frying oil and lower the heat to medium. Add the ancho, guajillo, and pasilla chiles to the warm oil and toast them flat, pressing with a spatula, until they darken slightly and smell nutty — about 20 seconds per side. Burn them and the soup is ruined; they go bitter and no amount of stock fixes it. Transfer to a bowl and cover with hot water to soak for 15 minutes.

3. 3

   On a dry comal or cast-iron griddle over medium-high heat, char the tomatoes and the onion half until blackened in spots and soft all the way through, turning occasionally — about 10 minutes for the tomatoes, 15 for the onion. Char the garlic cloves in their skins until spotted dark and softened, about 8 minutes. Let the garlic cool, then peel.

4. 4

   Drain the soaked chiles and transfer to a blender along with the charred tomatoes, onion half, and the peeled garlic. Add a splash of the hot stock to help the blades move and blend until completely smooth, at least a full minute. You want a silky purée with no flecks of chile skin.

5. 5

   Strain the blended salsa through a fine-mesh sieve back into the pot, pressing with the back of a ladle to push everything through. Set the pot over medium heat and cook the salsa, stirring constantly, until it darkens and thickens to a paste — about 5 minutes. This step is where people rush; let the salsa fry in its own concentration until it coats the spoon and looks almost like a thick paste.

6. 6

   Pour in the remaining hot stock and stir well to combine. Add the epazote sprigs and bring everything to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes so the flavors marry and the epazote infuses its herbal note into the broth. Taste and add salt — it will need more than you think because the chiles drink it up.

7. 7

   Divide half the reserved tortilla strips between deep bowls and ladle the hot soup over them. Top each bowl with the remaining crisp strips, the finely diced raw onion, crumbled queso fresco, a spoonful of crema, slices of avocado, and a couple of whole fried chiles de árbol. Serve immediately with lime wedges on the side. The tortilla strips should still be crunchy when the bowl reaches the table — add them at the last second, never before.

No responses yet — be the first.