Tortilla Soup...quick and green (the quest continues!)

...and THE QUEST continues!!!!  What quest is that, you ask?  Well, if that's what you're asking...then shame on you!  It's obviously the quest you haven't joined me in yet.  The quest in which you didn't or even worse, did! hear my plea and jump on board with.  So just in case you haven't heard...or just in case you ahem forgot...I'm on a quest.  But it's not just any quest!  It is a quest to find THE most rockin' bowl of Tortilla Soup!  I'm not counting out all of my friends who have joined me thanks you guys- mwah! so far...I just have visions of grandeur!  Tortilla soup to the left...tortilla soup to the right...hot bowls of it in front of me...cold vats of it in the fridge behind me...glorious wet dreams of it that awake me with shivers of ecstasy! Have I mentioned to you that I ♥ tortilla soup?  I'll admit, I've kinda let a bit too much time slip by since my last bowl...but I'm back with a vengeance, baby.

Green is good. Right?  So why have I been shunning green for red?  I swear it wasn't intentional.  All my previous tortilla soups have been red...or orange, I suppose...if I'm being literal.  But in a moment of sheer genius...a new front-runner was born!  It was quick.  It was green.  It was caliente.  It was the thing my dreams are made of.  I think I've mentioned before that we always have some form of salsa in the house...usually a blender salsa.  Yes, in the height of tomato season, I make pico de gallo to celebrate the glorious tomato...but for the other 11¼ months, I go the lazy way and use my friend, the blender.  This version of tortilla soup gets most of its flavor from a smokin' hot, ragin' good batch of salsa verde!  Shake it if ya got it!  I suppose you could use jarred/canned salsa verde...but I wouldn't advise it.  Because I'm a total salsa snob like that.  I've never actually tried it pre-made, because it's one of the easiest things on earth to make...so I haven't really had the need.  Tomatillos, green chiles, garlic-roast or boil 'em.  Put in blender, add liquid, some salt, cilantro-blend.  I'm sure there's those people who don't have access to tomatillos, though...and I'll go ahead and give you a free pass here.  The heat of the soup is gonna depend on the heat of your salsa.  Make it wimpy if you don't like to sweat.

(Quick and Easy) Green Tortilla Soup

Adjust the amount of salsa you add to suit your taste and heat-tolerance.  I like to use homemade tortillas to make the chips here, because then I can make them extra thick...which means they still stay a bit toothsome after they've been covered with the hot soup.  That's the way I like it.  Of  course you can use store bought.  If you must.

from the kitchen of girlichef

yield: ~1¼ qt.

~1 c. Salsa Verde

~1 qt. Chicken Stock or Broth

homemade Corn Tortillas (made extra thick)

avocado

queso fresco

Stir together the salsa and the broth in a medium-sized pot.  Heat gently to a boil.  Reduce heat and let cook over a lazy bubble for ~5 minutes or so.

In the meantime, cut up your tortillas into whatever shape you like...I liked squares today...and give 'em a quick fry in some hot oil...or bake them...you choose.

Place your tortilla chips in your bowl.  Dice some avocado and place it in the bowl with some big chunks of queso fresco.

Taste your soup and adjust seasonings as necessary.  I always season my salsa when I make it...and if you're not using homemade stock/broth, you never know how much salt is already in it...so TASTE IT FIRST then add salt and/or pepper if you think it needs it.  Ladle the hot soup over the tortillas, avocado, & queso fresco already waiting patiently in the bowl.

Super simple.  Super delicious.  Just plain super.  Super-dee-duper. Try some.

And PLEASE...join me in my quest to find the ultimate Tortilla Soup!!! I need all the help I can get.  And I like to drool.  Simply click HERE for details...or on the button below.  Don't leave me hangin'.

I'm also sending this over to my friend Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for Souper Sundays this week...and I'm linking it up to Two for Tuesdays (cuz tortilla soup satisfies my soul in ways you'll never know)...and Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Tuesday Night Supper Club----exposure = more potential TORTILLA SOUP questers!!!  You can get to any of those places by clicking on their buttons below.