Vegan Tortilla Soup with Sliced Radishes and Avocados
By Elizabeth Stark of Brooklyn Supper
A hearty, spicy plant-based tortilla soup that's perfect for chilly winter days.
The chilly days of January call for warming, hearty, and spicy meals like this plant-based tortilla soup. Tortilla soup in the US often comes piled high with add-ins and toppings, but at its core, it's a simple soup meant to highlight the essence of good corn tortillas fried until fragrant and spicy chilies. Rather than the traditional pasilla chilies, this recipe gets its flavor from chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. They’re easy to work with and allow you to build the smoky heat to your exact preference by adding a chipotle or drizzle of adobo sauce a little at a time.
Because the ingredients are simple, you'll want to make the soup with the best ingredients you can find: Think corn tortillas that smell like fresh corn and deeply flavorful vegetable stock (homemade is recommended, but your favorite store-bought brand will do just fine). You might be tempted to skip the deep frying, but this step is essential for building out the flavor base of the soup. Once the tortillas are fried, the aromatics are cooked in the same oil, suffusing the soup with flavor.
The soup base is made with a host of pantry staples like yellow onions, frozen corn, and canned tomatoes, but one thing you may not have around is canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce. I recommend picking some up in the Latinx food aisle of your grocery store. I've found that the heat and flavor can vary by batch and brand, so do a little experimenting to find a brand you love. This recipe won't use the whole jar or can, but you can label and freeze your leftovers and use them later in soups, beans, enchiladas, or dips.
Finally, a note on variations. I've made this recipe with all fresh chilies (I roasted them in the broiler first), roasted red peppers (to build flavor without heat), dried chilies, and even tablespoons of chili powder. You can swap in fresh corn or add black beans for a protein boost. Once you’re familiar with the basic recipe, there's plenty of room for seasonal swaps, or just the flexibility to cook with the ingredients you have on hand. As for toppings, add the things you love. I'm partial to the crunch of radishes next to creamy avocados.
Vegan Tortilla Soup with Sliced Radishes and Avocados
A hearty, spicy plant-based tortilla soup that's perfect for chilly winter days. This recipe makes a big batch of soup. If you have a smaller household, halve the recipe or freeze the leftovers.
Makes: 8 servings
Soup
16 corn tortillas, 12 whole and 4 cut into 1-inch thick strips
1/2 cup corn or canola oil
2 medium yellow onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, smashed, peeled and minced
2 - 4 jalapeños, seeded and minced
2 - 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (plus more chilies and sauce to taste)
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
6 cups broth
16 ounces (3 cups) frozen corn kernels (or sub fresh corn)
Toppings
Thinly sliced radishes
Sliced avocado
Thinly sliced jalapeño
Torn cilantro leaves
Lime wedges
Set a wide, deep-sided cast iron or other skillet over medium/medium-high heat and fill with oil to a 1/2-inch depth. Heat 5 minutes or long enough that a small piece of corn tortilla sizzles when dropped into the oil (oil should be shimmering and hot, but not smoking – adjust heat as needed). Fry the whole tortillas 1 - 2 minutes per side, and then remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Continue until all the whole tortillas are fried. If oil starts to get too hot or smoke at all, edge heat down. Next, fry the strips 1 - 2 minutes, using a slotted fish spatula or slotted spoon to remove them from the oil. Remove to paper towel-lined plate and sprinkle strips with sea salt.
Set a 5- or 6-quart dutch oven or other deep sided soup pot over medium heat. Carefully add 2 tablespoons of the frying oil. Add the onions, garlic, and jalapeños, and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Add the chipotle peppers, several spoonfuls of adobo sauce, tomatoes, and 2 cups broth. Bring to a lively simmer, and stirring frequently, cook 5 minutes. Taste, and add more chipotles in adobo if you prefer a spicier dish.
Either with an immersion blender, or by carefully pouring the hot liquid into the pitcher of a blender, blend the soup until smooth. Return liquid to Dutch oven or pot, add remaining broth and frozen corn, and crumble in the fried tortillas. Bring mixture to a gentle boil and then turn down to a gentle simmer for 20 minutes. Note that soup will bubble and pop – stir often. As soup cooks, taste and add sea salt or more adobo sauce as desired.
Ladle soup into bowls, top with fried tortilla strips, radishes, chilies, avocado, lime juice, and cilantro. Serve right away.
Leftover soup will keep well for 3 days.
