Cooking Lesson #1102: Cocina Tortilla Soup

…from the Perspectives’ Kitchen

How you doin’? I hate it when I go to a Mexican restaurant and order Tortilla Soup and it comes to the table thin, watery, greasy and pissy. That’s not what authentic Tortilla soup is supposed to taste like. The best Tortilla Soup is from one of the best known 5-star hotels in Los Angeles, The Hotel Bel-Air.
 
Long before Wolfgang Puck took over the foodservices at The Hotel Bel-Air, they had several signature dishes served in the Café. One of my favorites was the original Tortilla Soup. The executive director and our client shared the hotel’s original famous Tortilla Soup recipe with me.
 
Hotel Bel-Air is very popular with many famous and wealthy Hollywood celebrities as well as titans of business and world dignitaries, all who are attracted by the luxury and privacy of the hotel. Well-known and legendary guests including Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn.
 
Aside from the beauty of the property the service and hospitality at The Restaurant are big draws and, of course, you couldn’t have al fresco lunch or dinner without enjoying a bowl of their famous Tortilla Soup.
 
After several hotel and restaurant renovations, the Tortilla Soup remained on the menu at The Restaurant with only slight changes to the original recipe. If you are so inclined, try the Original—follow the directions below.
 
Prep time:  30 minutes
Cook time:  45 minutes
Yield:  5 10-ounce servings
 
Ingredients 
For the soup:
1/8 cup corn oil
5 corn tortillas (6”), chopped
1/8 cup fresh garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, minced
1/2 large fresh brown onion, pureed
1/2 tablespoon cumin
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you like it spicier)
9 ounces tomato puree
1/2 cup chicken base (I prefer Better Than Bouillon)
8 cups hot water
 
Ingredients & Setup for a single serving portion
1-1/4 cups prepared tortilla soup (from recipe above)
1/4 cup fried corn tortillas, cut into thin strips
3 tablespoons grilled chicken, julienne cut
1 tablespoon Monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 tablespoon avocado, peeled and cubed
1 fresh cilantro sprig
1 fresh lime wedge
 
Directions

1. In a saucepan, heat the corn oil and sauté 2-ounces of chopped tortillas with garlic and cilantro. 
2. Add the onions and bring to a hot sauté.
3. Add cumin, bay leaf, cayenne and tomato puree.
4. Combine chicken base and water to make a stock; add this chicken stock to the above ingredients. 
5. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes.
6. Strain through a fine strainer and remove all large particles.
7. Add the remaining 3 ounces of chopped tortillas and puree with an immersion blender.
8. Ladle 10 ounces of hot soup into a heated soup bowl.
9. Garnish each bowl with fried tortilla strips, chicken pieces, cheese, avocado, cilantro and lime.
10. If your soup doesn’t look like mine, it isn’t the real thing.
11. Serve hot.

ChefSecret:  When making creamy smooth soups one indispensable tool is an immersion blender, also known as stick blender.  It is a kitchen blade grinder used to blend ingredients or purée food in the container in which they are being prepared. Prices for the home units range from $30 to $150.

Quip of the Day:  Q. What do tortillas use to stay in shape? A. A tortilla press!
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