Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

Pachinko2009

Best I've ever had, including from my favorite Mexican restaurant.

I tweaked a recipe from one I found on Epicurious.


Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 medium onion chopped (about 240g)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
4 cups canned vegetable broth
4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro


4 6-inch-diameter corn tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1 medium tomato (about 230g) pureed in a food processor, or just chopped if you like the chunks (I don't)
2/3 cup canned black beans, rinsed, drained (I used low sodium)
3 medium peeled carrots cut into 1/2" slices (about 240g)
1 medium potato cut into cubes (about 360g)
1 serrano chili minced

Spray large nonstick saucepan with vegetable oil spray. Add onion and garlic; cover and cook over medium-low heat until almost tender, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, cumin and chili powder. Add broth and 2 tablespoons cilantro; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until flavors blend, about 15 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to simmer before continuing.)

Add tortillas, tomatoes, beans, potato, carrots, and serrano chili to soup. Cover; simmer until potato and carrots are tender. Season with salt and pepper. (the tortillas will completely dissolve and add to the flavor and the thickness of the soup, don't be afraid that you'll get soggy nasty bits of tortilla, you won't)

Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro.

This recipe makes 8 cups and each cup is only 129 calories!!! I cut skinny strips of corn tortilla and fried them to use as garnish as well as some shredded queso (not included in the calorie count)

Here's the link to the original recipe if you'd rather go with that http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Vegetarian-Tortilla-Soup-4421