The World's Best Tortilla Soup

So I've promised this recipe to about a zillion people.

It's the best, best, best tortilla soup recipe ever. When I make it, Charlie and I slurp it up until our bellies bulge out and start to ache. And then we eat some more. I NEVER halve this recipe, because it will ALL disappear. It's even BETTER (if possible) as leftovers. I should note that this recipe is adapted from the Cook's Illustrated version, though, I think mine is even BETTER than theirs.

So please: MAKE IT! MAKE IT NOOOOOW!

Necessary equipment:

A big soup pot
A blender or food processor (if you only have a blender, start with smaller chunks of things before blending)
A strainer
A large bowl (preferably one that isn't made of glass and didn't belong to your great grandmother--they tend to break when making contact with boiling broth)

Notes: I like my soup SPICY. If you don't like yours this way, then cut back on the Jalepenos--particularly in the blended mixture--make sure you put SOME in, just not the whole one that I like to add.

Necessary ingredients:

for the TORTILLA STRIPS

8 or more round corn tortillas, cut into 1/2" strips
1 T vegetable oil
Table salt

for the SOUP

4 bone-in chicken thighs (skin removed, trimmed of excess fat)
8 cups chicken broth (I like the Pacific brand in the box)
1 very large white or yellow onion or 2 small/medium sized ones (I like yellow better in this)
4 medium garlic cloves, peeled (I like to cut them in half or into quarters)
1 sprig fresh oregano (needs to be fresh)
8 or 10 sprigs fresh cilantro
Table salt
1 can Muir Glen fire-roasted tomatoes (use either regular or the kind with green chiles--we used the green chile kind last time and it was AWESOME)
1 medium jalepeno chile
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce (you can buy these canned, and they freeze just fine if you don't use the whole can)
1 T vegetable oil

for the GARNISHES
1 lime, in wedges
1 avocado, chopped into small chunks
crumbled cotija cheese (salty deliciousness)
fresh cilantro
Mexican Crema or sour cream

Nooow, GO!

1. FIRST MAKE THE TORTILLA CHIPS. Heat your over to 425 degrees. Put tortilla strip slices in a bowl. Drizzle with vegetable oil. Toss with your hands until all strips are coated. Spread out on the baking sheet and then sprinkle with salt. Put in oven and bake until crispy and just starting to brown around edges. You'll have to check these frequently to prevent from burning. Put them in a bowl or on a plate once they're ready.

2. NOW MAKE THE SOUP! Chop onion into quarters, removing root end. Pour chicken broth, raw chicken thighs, 2 garlic cloves, 2 onion quarters, cilantro, oregano, and salt (to taste) to a boil over med-high heat in your soup pot. Boil for about 20 minutes or until the chicken cooks through. Once the chicken is cooked, use tongs (or a tricky two-fork dance) to remove the chicken from the pot and put it on a plate to cool a little. Meanwhile pour the soup broth into a large bowl through a strainer--straining out all the solids. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it into bite-sized pieces. Toss the bones.

Puree the tomatoes (you can do this while you're waiting for the soup to boil) in your blender/food processor with the remaining onion and garlic, the jalepeno, and the chipotle chile (plus one tsp of the adobo sauce). Blend/puree until smooth.

Now put a T of veggie oil into your soup pot. Pour the tomato puree into the bottom of your soup pot. Cook it over medium to med-high heat for 10 minutes until it gets simmery and bubbly. Now add your saved soup broth back to the pot. Bring it back to a simmer, and let it cook for 15 minutes to let the flavors mingle and have love children. Add chicken, and bring it back to a simmer, to ensure that the chicken is hot again.

3. NOW SERVE. Put tortills strips in the bottom of bowls. Ladle soup over tortillas. Top with cotija, avocado, sour cream, jalepeno, cilantro, lime, etc.

4. SLURP SLURP SLURP (groan about your belly being too full) SLURP SLURP SLURP.

The recipe that started it all

Since Ms. A mentioned this recipe below, I figured what better concoction to include for my first post!

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

4 cups crimini mushrooms (you can use whatever variety you would like, but I recommend mostly crimini. I've also wondered what throwing a few morels in would do...)
1 large onion, chopped (enough for approx. 1-1.5 cups chopped)
4 tsp paprika (I use more!)
4 tsp dill (ditto)
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
6 tbsp butter or olive oil
1/3 cup flour
1 3/4 cups milk
2 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sour cream (would also be fabulous with creme fraiche!)
Fresh parsley or chives

Directions:
Heat large skillet or 5 1/2 quart pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coarsely chop onion(s). When pot is warm add olive oil, or butter if you prefer.
Add onion, paprika, dill, sea salt, and pepper. Cook until onion begins to get tender. Stir in flour, taking care not to let it burn.
Add milk, water, and mushrooms. Bring almost to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered.
Remove from heat and add soy sauce, lemon juice, and sour cream.
Serve garnished with more sour cream if you desire, and parsley or chives.
Best consumed with freshly-baked bread!

Edited to add: Most of these measurements are really approximations. You can add more seasoning, milk, water, sour cream, whatever as you like!

This recipe is from L'ivre de Cuisine, a compendium of recipes from the French American International School community, where I used to work. I cook from it regularly, so you'll most likely see more recipes from that book here.