February 24th: National Tortilla Chip Day

Yes, there really is a day officially dedicated to tortilla chips. I suppose this means there is also a day dedicated to tortillas. Maybe two days, one for flour and another for corn. Maybe even blue corn, white corn and yellow corn.

Catastrophically, I was out of tortilla chips. Yet, there were lots of perfectly good corn tortillas, yellow, in the freezer. So... a little fooling around and tortilla soup here we come!

Tortilla Soup (sopa de tortillas con ajo)

Serves four

The soup

• About 1 quart chicken broth
• 6 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• about 1/2 tsp cumin
• about 1/4 tsp allspice
• 2 large ripe avocados
• four springs of cilantro
• 1 stalk green onion, chopped
• salt to taste

The tortilla strips

• 2-3 Corn tortillas
• oil for frying
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• salt
• green onions, chopped

Process

1. Pre-heat oven to 375° F.
2. Place the garlic, onion, cumin, allspice and salt into the broth. Blend to a smooth consistency and simmer for about 30 minutes.
3. Cut the tortillas into 1/4" strips. Set aside
4. Heat the oil, add the tortilla strips, toss to coat with oil. Fry a couple of minutes until they take a hint of color. Add the garlic and onions, toss around to distribute the flavor.
5. Remove the strips from the pan drain on a paper towel in a plate. Place the strips in an oven proof dish and crisp in the oven, about 15-20 minutes.
6. When the strips are ready, remove from oven and set aside.
7. Remove stems from cilantro, set aside.
8. Slice the avocado into thin slices, set aside.
9. Taste the broth for salt, spices. Adjust as needed.
10. Ladle the broth into four bowls. Add avocado, tortilla strips, cilantro.
11. Serve immediately.