It's no secret we love spicy food, and here in the fall we love eating soup for dinner. Tortilla soup combines all the things I love in Mexican cooking: Chipotle, salsa, avocado, cilantro and fresh hot tortilla chips all in one.

If you want a more filling soup you can add more vegetables and some cooked rice, or serve the soup with a slice of good bread.

Ingredients

4 6-inch (small) corn tortilla, preferably a little old and dried out
¼ cup (1 dl) grape seed oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 chipotle pepper w. some of the adobo sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 cups (1 liter) chicken stock (or 4 cups water + teaspoons chicken base
1 can (14 oz/400-450 g) tomatoes
rotisserie chicken, shredded
¼ cup (1 dl) lime juice
½ cup (75-100 g) sweet yellow corn

Toppings

1 ripe avocado
2 tomatoes, deseeded and diced
fresh cilantro, chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges
creme fraiche or sour cream.
tortilla strips

Directions

Starting with fresh tortilla, you need to do this extra step:

Place the tortilla on a baking sheet and bake them at 200°F (95℃) for about 10-15 minutes to dry them out a bit.

Cut dry tortillas into ¼-inch (¾ cm) wide strips. Heat oil in a wide pan. Working in batches, fry the tortilla strips in the oil, until crisp and lightly browned. Let excess oil drain from the tortilla strips on a paper-towel-lined plate.

In a large pot or dutch oven sauté the onions in a splash of oil until translucent. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add the chopped, powdered chili, stock, canned tomatoes and salt. Bring the soup to a boil and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and corn, and cook until heated through.

While the soup simmer, dice the tomato, chop the cilantro, peel and deseed the avocado and slice it. Cut the lime into wedges.

Serve the soup scalding hot in small bowls, with the topping you like.

Enjoy!