Mexican Tortilla Soup

This is the second time I've made tortilla soup on this blog.  My previous recipe uses tomatoes, but this one has a clear broth flavoured with chipotle peppers in adobo and cilantro.

It starts with a broth made from whole chicken legs, onions and garlic and adds a few beef bones for extra meaty flavour.

While the broth is simmering, fry two whole tortillas and 4 tortillas cut into strips. 

After simmering for an hour, the chicken is shredded.  Chipotles, cilantro, onion and crumbled fried tortillas are pureed and added to the broth.

The broth takes on a greenish colour with the puree added in.  The shredded chicken goes back into the soup and I added some corn as well. 

Once the soup is warmed through, place the garnishes in the bowl - avocado, chopped cilantro and shredded cheese.

Ladle the hot soup over the garnishes and top with fried tortilla strips. 

This soup is slightly spicy, hearty and warming. It makes a fantastic winter dinner. 

Here's the recipe, adapted slightly from Mark Bittman's Tortilla Soup recipe in the New York Times. 

Ingredients:
4 large chicken legs
2 meaty beef bones (optional)
1 medium onion, skin on, quartered
1 whole head garlic, halved, skin on
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 corn tortillas
2 chipotles in adobo
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
salt
1 cup frozen corn (optional)
shredded cheese
diced avocado

Directions:

Place chicken legs, beef bones, garlic and 3/4 of onion in a large pot. Cover with water, about 10 cups. 

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer.  Cook for about an hour. 

Strain the broth through a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter.  Set chicken aside to cool.  At this point you can also chill the broth to let the fat rise to the surface. 

Meanwhile, slice 4 tortillas into strips. Heat oil in a pan and cook 2 whole tortillas until light brown and crisp, about 1 minute per side. Remove tortillas and drain on paper towels.  Add tortilla strips to oil in pan and toss until brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes. Drain strips on paper towels. 

Add the chipotles, 1/4 cup cilantro, the remaining 1/4 onion and a teaspoon of salt to a blender.  Crumble in the two whole, fried tortillas and add 2 cups of the broth.  Puree until smooth.

Remove the chicken from the bones and shred the meat. 

When ready to serve, skim the fat from the chicken broth and pour into a pot to reheat.  Add the chipotle mixture and bring to a boil.  Simmer for 10 minutes. 

Add the corn and chicken and bring back to a simmer to warm through.  Season with salt to taste. 

Add avocado, cheese and cilantro to serving bowls and pour soup over top.  Sprinkle fried tortilla strips over the top and add more cheese if desired.  

Enjoy! 

Putting Up With: Tomatoes Two Ways

My "Putting Up With" series is a play on the phrase 'putting up' as a colloquialism for canning.  But in this case, it's particularly apt, because the only way I can put up with (tolerate) tomatoes is when they're canned, cooked or preserved in some way.  

I was a very picky eater when I was younger, but I've learned to tolerate, and even enjoy, some of the things that horrified me as a child.  I now cook with all types of peppers and mushrooms and even occasionally use mayonnaise and beans, all things I couldn't stand a few years ago.  But I've never grown to love raw tomatoes. Both the texture and taste are repulsive to me.  These recipes have helped me use up all the tomatoes I get every week from our garden and my CSA box.  

Curried Corn Bisque

Sometimes, when things get stressful, all you need is a quick, hearty, home made soup to make it all better.  This soup takes almost no time at all and is so warm and satisfying.  It would be great with fresh summer corn but it is so simple and delicious with frozen corn. 

The recipe is adapted from Eating Well magazine.  Here's what you need for soup! 

Corn Chowder

Sweet corn on the cob is one of my very favourite things.  Corn season has just about wrapped up where we are, so I used the last of the summer corn to make this amazing corn chowder.  So much sweet corn flavour!

We've been very lucky this year with our local corn.  Between the local markets and our CSA basket, we've had some pretty delicious cobs!  We like to eat them boiled in lightly salted water with a touch of sugar for just 7 minutes.  We eat them plain, without butter or even salt, unless the corn needs the help.  

I see lots of corn recipes that look interesting, but when boiling and eating is so satisfying, it's hard to put in more effort than that.  But I think this soup is worth it.  It's creamy and filled with amazing corn flavour and texture.  

Spring Lobster Salad with Corn, Potatoes & Tarragon

It's finally starting to feel like spring around here.  So I decided to celebrate with a simple but luxurious dinner salad.  

Tarragon is easily found in most grocery stores. It's has a liquorice flavour that's a great match for lobster.  

This recipe is inspired by Epicurious but I made some small changes.  

Here's what you need to serve two as a main course or four as a starter:

Tortilla Soup

This recipe was originally intended to use up stale tortillas, but it is so good, I bought fresh corn tortillas just for this soup.  It's rich, spicy and flavourful, and so easy to pull together in just minutes.  

I used store-bought white corn tortillas for this but you can always make your own. 

Here's what you need:

Lobster Corn Chowder

Is there anything as pretty as a seafood chowder?  Chunks of lobster, potatoes and vegetables, fresh corn and bacon.  So tasty!

How about a close-up?

I was lucky enough to find some frozen lobster claws at the supermarket right when the last corn of the season was available.  So I snatched it up and chowder was an easy decision.  

Scallop & Corn Pasta - Two (More) Ways

Am I ever going to miss fresh corn on the cob season. I combined scallops and orecchiette with frozen corn last winter, but nothing beats corn fresh from the cob.  It is so crunchy, sweet and delicious.   

This time I used cherry tomatoes, jalapeños and herbs in the sauce.  I love these multi-coloured little tomatoes in pasta. I combined them with the smaller ones from my garden.  

I like to dice them but you can halve them or even leave them whole.  

Cook the pasta in boiling water according to package directions.  Orecchiette (little ears) are really fabulous in this because the corn and scallops rest in them beautifully, but you could use penne, bowties or any short pasta.  

Remove the corn from the cobs with a sharp knife.  

Heat a little butter and oil in a large pan and add 3 minced garlic cloves and 2 minced jalapeno peppers.  

Sauté for a few minutes, then toss in the tomatoes and corn.  

Add about 1/3 cup of white wine to the hot pan.  Let it simmer about 3 minutes until slightly reduced.

I love these little bay scallops with this.  Dry them with paper towels and toss them right in to the pan.  They'll steam in the sauce in about 2 minutes.  

Add the cooked pasta.

Toss it all together and sprinkle with fresh pepper and herbs.  I used parsley and chives.  Terrific!

BONUS SECOND DISH!

This one is just as good, maybe even better!  This time I used larger sea scallops and bacon.  

I cooked the diced bacon until crisp then removed it from the pan, leaving the bacon fat behind.

Then I dried the scallops really well, sprinkled them with salt and pepper and seared them in the pan.  Then removed them and covered with foil.  

Next I added 3 minced garlic cloves, minced hot pepper, 3 cobs of corn removed from the cobs and sautéed for 3 minutes.  Add in 1/2 a cup of white wine and simmer about 3 minutes longer.  Add 1/2 a cup sour cream and simmer 1 minute until thickened. 

Add the pasta into the pot and toss it all together.  Sprinkle with chives and top with the seared sea scallops.  Tangy and delicious!  

  

Spice Crusted Lamb Chops with Corn Salad

I always see these beautiful lamb chops with the long "handle" (bone) in blogs and recipe sites, but I never see them for sale in stores.  I decided to take matters into my own hands and turn a Frenched rack of lamb into lollipop chops.  

This recipe comes from Serious Eats but it was way too spicy for me as written.  I should have known when it called for half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper that something was off.  There was too much spice altogether, so I've halved the spice mix recipe and further reduced the cayenne.  You can add more if you want it super spicy.  

First, the corn salad.  You'll need:

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cups fresh corn kernels, from about 4 ears corn
Freshly ground black pepper

Spanish Sausage Hash with Potatoes & Corn

We found some more delicious sausage at The Hungary Butcher at Ogilvies Market.  This time we chose the spicy Spanish sausage.  I thought it would be nice with some crispy potatoes.  I also had some fresh corn from the market so I threw that in too.  It tasted incredible and we'll definitely have it again.  

I made this one up myself.  This will make enough for 4.  Here's what you need:

Orzo with Corn and Peppers

Matt loves orzo.  It's like rice, but it's pasta!  It's also really easy to whip up an impressive side dish with orzo.  It cooks very quickly and mixes well with most veggies, herbs and even cheeses.  You can serve it hot or cold.  It's very versatile.  

This would work as a salad, chilled or at room temperature, but I served it warm as a side dish.  Here's what you need:

Corn Radish and Jicama Salad

This is a gorgeous, tasty salad.  I bet it will be even better when corn is in season this summer, but it was a wonderful, colourful dish.

I adapted this recipe from Serious Eats (like just about everything I eat).  I didn't have all the ingredients they call for but this turned out great.   

Here's what you need: 

Shrimp with Corn Fritters and Lime Crema

This is shockingly delicious and left me wondering why I haven't been making corn fritters every week since I got married.  Matt loves corn but I don't make it that often as a side since I don't really consider it a vegetable.  I always add it to soup and tacos, sometimes to chili, and I love to eat corn on the cob in the summer.  But this is a whole new way for us to enjoy corn.  

This recipe was inspired by April's Clean Eating magazine, but I used Martha Stewart's corn fritter recipe.  One warning about this: it does require a lot of last-minute futzing about.  You can make the fritters in advance and hold them in a 200 degree oven while you prepare the shrimp.  The fritters lose a little crispiness, but it's probably worth it to avoid running around to get it all plated like I did (taking pictures at the same time didn't help).

I'll tell you about the corn fritters first, and then the shrimp.

Corn cakes or corn fritters or corn cakes are essentially pancakes with corn in them.  Martha's recipe uses cornmeal and flour but you can also use masa.  I used quite a lot of corn kernels but you can reduce the amount for a smoother, cake-ier fritter.  Here's what you need:  

Home Made Corn Tortillas

This adventure came about completely by accident.  I had a meal planned that called for corn tortillas and I was planning to pick them up at the grocery store, but after trying two different stores, corn tortillas were nowhere to be found.  I did find instant masa though, and figured I could make my own tortillas.  

I ordered a tortilla press online and got to work!

Orecchiette with Bay Scallops and Corn

Some things are just made for each other. Pasta, particularly, often has a special relationship with other ingredients based on its shape. Pappardelle's wide ribbons pair well with thick ragù. Orecchietti means "little ears" and the curved shape is perfect for tiny bay scallops and corn to rest in. This was a very successful meal that will make it into our regular rotation.

Here's what you need for 4 servings:

400g bay scallops (thawed if frozen) 250g oricchiette
6 green onions
1 hot pepper (or red bell pepper)
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup cooked, chopped bacon (optional)
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add the oricchiette. Cook according to package directions. Before draining, reserve a cup of the pasta cooking water.

Chop the chili pepper and the white and light green parts of the green onions (chop the dark green parts and keep them separate).

While pasta is cooking, heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a large pan and cook the corn, bacon, peppers and onions for about 3 minutes until softened.  

Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

Dry the scallops well. Heat the other 1/2 tbsp oil in the pan and add the scallops, sprinkling with salt and pepper.

Cook the scallops just 2 minutes, tossing until lightly browned, then add the wine and bring to a simmer.

Remove the scallops to the bowl with the corn so they don't over cook.  Then add the butter to the wine and simmer for a few minutes to reduce slightly.

Once the pasta is cooked, reserve 1 cup of the cooking water then drain and toss the pasta with the butter and wine in the pan.

Then add the cooked vegetables and scallops back to the pan along with the dark parts of the green onions and toss it all together, adding pasta water as needed to moisten the mixture.

Serve it up in bowls for one of the tastiest pastas you've had in a while.

See how all the ingredients nestle into the little pasta ears?  Perfection.