Simple & Light Tortilla Soup

This is a light version of  a very tasty Mexican soup. I really love this version because it won’t fill you up and make you feel heavy like classical recipes, which in my opinion could be considered a main course after you add all the fixings. Using the ancho chile gives this dish a traditional taste only found in Mexican cuisine. Thanks to my friend Carly for introducing me to the original recipe.

Ingredients

• 4 corn tortillas
• 1  dry ancho chile
• 2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
• 1 ripe tomato, roughly chopped or 1½ cups drained canned chopped tomato
•  6 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth (use  vegetable broth for vegetarian version)
•  ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
•  salt to taste
•  6 oz light queso fresco
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro for garnish

Serves: 6

Weight Watchers Points Plus per serving: 2  about 1 cup of broth, 1/6^th of the tortilla strips and 1 oz of light queso fresco.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Cut 3 tortillas  in half and then cut crosswise into strips ½ inch wide. Let them dry for 5-10 minutes. Place tortillas on a baking tray mist with cooking spray and broil for 5 minutes tossing after 3 minutes. Allow the tortilla strips to become crispy.

3. In a bowl, soak 1 chile in hot water for 10-15 minutes. 

4. In a heavy pot over medium heat warm 1 teaspoon oil, add the onion garlic and sauté until  rich golden brown, about 10 minutes.

5. Transfer onions and garlic to a blender. Add the chili you soaked in water making sure to discarding the liquid. Lastly, tear up the remaining tortilla and the tomato and puree until smooth adding up to 1/4 cup of water if the paste is too thick.

6. Return the puree to the pot along with 1 teaspoon of oil and fry stirring continuously until the sauce has deepened in color, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth simmer to blend the flavours, about 15 minutes. Add the oregano and adjust salt if needed.

7. When ready to serve ladle soup into 6 bowls, distribute tortilla strips evenly and top with 1 oz. of queso fresco.  If you wish you may also top the soup with avocado or sweet corn for extra flavour.

Source: Adapted from Williams- Sonoma Essentials of Latin Cooking

Perfect Summer Gazpacho

My Toronto apartment has no air-conditioning which makes cooking in the summer quite uncomfortable. This cold soup is a perfect summer recipe because it keeps my kitchen cool.

The first time I made this soup I was intrigued by the technique of soaking the bread in water but it adds texture to the soup. This recipe is foolproof it turns out perfectly every time I make it. The hardest part is blanching the tomatoes which only takes 5 minutes once you have some experience. You will need to plan ahead as it needs to rest in the refrigerator for at least two hours but don’t let that discourage you from trying it out.

Ingredients:

• 2 slices day – old white bread, crust removed, broken into pieces
• 1 kilo vine ripened tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 red pepper, seeded, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon superfine sugar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Garnish:

• ½ short cucumber, seeded, finely diced
• ½ red pepper, seeded, finely diced
• ½ green pepper, seeded, finely diced
• ½ red onion, finely diced
• ½ ripe tomato, diced

Serves: 4

Weight Watchers Point Plus: 3 per serving

Directions:

1. Blanch and peel tomatoes using these instructions.
2. Soak the bread in cold water for 5 minutes, then squeeze out any excess liquid. Transfer to a food processor with the tomato, red pepper, garlic, sugar, vinegar and oil, process until well combined and smooth.
3. Season to taste and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Add a little extra red wine vinegar if desired.
4. To make the garnish mix together all the ingredients. When ready to serve ladle the chilled gazpacho into a soup bowl, top with as much garnish as you desire.

Note: the garnish in this picture is missing some of the ingredients in the recipe.

Quick Carrot Soup

As a child I had an aunt that loved making fresh carrot juice but she didn’t add any fruits or sugar. Although I had so much fun when I visited her I started to resent the visits just thinking of the carrot juice. She would say carrots were very good for my eyes and my skin which is true but what 7 year old cares about that? Now I  like carrots (not love) because of recipes like this one, but I still won’t have carrot juice on its own.

This week I made this soup because  I had left over carrots from  the Moroccan Carrot Salad with Oranges and Almonds. If you compare the two recipes you will find they have similar ingredients but the dill in the soup and the cumin in the salad drastically alters the flavour, making both recipes very different experiences.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoon olive oil
1 lb. carrots, wash, peel and coarsely chopped
1  onion chopped
3 cups low sodium  chicken broth or vegetable broth if you are vegetarian
1 tablespoon fresh dill or 3/4 teaspoon dry dill
1 1/2 teaspoon no salt seasoning ( I used Mrs. Dash, see picture)
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon liquid honey

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan on medium heat sauté the olive oil, onions and carrots for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent.

2. Add broth, dill and no salt seasoning to the saucepan and allow to boil. Once the soup has boiled reduce the heat to medium- low and allow it to simmer uncovered.

3. When the carrots are tender usually 8 to 10 minutes, carefully process with a hand blender or blender, careful not to burn yourself.

3.  Add the orange juice and  honey stir an allow to cook for another minute. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve while it is still hot.

Yields 4, 1 cup / 250 ml

Weight Watchers Point Plus: 3

Source: Company’s Coming Healthy Choices