Emeril's Quick Tortilla Soup

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse

Show: The Essence of EmerilEpisode: Simple Soups

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (48)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(48)

Cook Time:
45 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
4 to 6 servings

Times:

Prep: 10 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 45 min
Total:: 55 min

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Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped, or 1 pasilla or green bell pepper
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon tomato paste
6 cups chicken stock or canned, low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound cooked chicken, shredded
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
6 stale corn tortillas, cut into 1/4-inch-thick strips
2 cups vegetable oil, for frying
1 teaspoon Essence, recipe follows
1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and chopped, optional garnish
Chipotle Crema, optional garnish, recipe below

Directions

In a Dutch oven or large heavy pot, heat the oil on medium-high heat. Add the onions, garlic, peppers, salt, cumin, and coriander for 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add the chicken and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cilantro and lime juice, and stir well. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

Heat the oil in a heavy pot or electric fryer to 350 degrees F. Add the tortilla strips in batches and fry until golden and crisp, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Season with the Essence.

Ladle the soup into 4 or 6 serving bowls. Garnish each serving with the fried tortilla strips, avocado and Chipotle Crema, as desired.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch

Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

Chipotle Crema:

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1/8 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine all the ingredients. Process on high speed until smooth. Serve with the soup.

Yield: 1/2 cup

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Emeril's Quick Tortilla Soup
J Grand Prairie, TX 01-20-2010
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Great Light Supper
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I made this soup the other evening for my BF and it was simple and very tasty. All I can suggest is when you do make it,... double the recipe. It's that good and didn't last long. It's warm and satisfying and will become a regular addition to the dinner recipe rotation. Read more
recipe Emeril's Quick Tortilla Soup
Crystal Tulsa, OK 01-19-2010
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Very Good
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

This is a good soup. I did make a few modifications. I left out the cilantro & avocado because I don't like those things at... all. I added some white corn, then topped it off with jack cheese along with plain sour cream rather than the Chipotle Crema. I also baked the tortillas rather than deep frying them. I chose this recipe because it was not tomato heavy as some of the other Chicken Tortilla soups, which suits my taste perfectly. I like chicken stock based soups, and really dislike tomato soup. The peppers and other spices (with the exception of cilantro which I didn't use) were perfect. I used a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from the market and shredded it (combination of white & dark meat) into the soup. Next time I will probably buy baked tortilla chips and use those rather than making that part myself as I didn't feel they made that much of a difference over store bought. Overall a very good soup, just needed to tweak it a bit for personal taste. Read more
recipe Emeril's Quick Tortilla Soup
Joy Clayton, NC 01-13-2010
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Awesomeness!!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This is my families favorite soup hands down! I have been making this recipe for the last 4 years and it will always be a... staple in my family. It is excellent the way it is but when I want to lighten it up, I leave out the tortillas broken up in the soup and add 1 to 2 yellow squash and 1 to 2 zucchini chopped in small bite size cubes. That way you don't have all those fried tortillas in the soup but I still serve the strips on the side. I love soups and would like to find more as good as this one. Thank you Emeril!!Read more
recipe Emeril's Quick Tortilla Soup
Rose Phoenix, AZ 12-17-2009
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Love this soup
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I made this soup last night.. wish I had more left overs for lunch today. I added some spanish rice and corn to the recipe... to fill it in a bit. It's my BF's new favorite soup. Read more
recipe Emeril's Quick Tortilla Soup
KELLY Ashburn, VA 12-07-2009
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Simplicity and BIG flavor!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Thought this would be chicken in some broth...was I wrong! Many layers of flavor make this soup-er satisfying. I used green... pepper and jalapeno with great results, flavorful with a little lip tingle afterward. I julienned flour tortillas, instead of corn, for the garnish and they retained their texture well and made the soup more hardy. This is a great recipe for a casual dinner with friends over for football. Make and set up in the crockpot with garnishes for everyone to do themselves. I'm now a, soup IS a meal, convert!Read more
recipe Emeril's Quick Tortilla Soup
Krissy Bakersfield, CA 10-06-2009
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Yummy!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This recipe was my first attempt at Tortilla soup. Turned out great. i added corn to the recipe though. I will use this... recipe over and over again. Thanx to Emeril and Food Network.Read more