Eva's Kitchen - Eva Longoria Parker [12]
3. In the work bowl of a food processor, place the chiles, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and the salt. Process until smooth, adding a ½ cup of the reserved chicken broth to loosen the mixture if it is too thick.
4. Stir the chile puree and half of the cilantro into the broth. Bring to a simmer over low heat, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and add salt if needed. Stir in the reserved chicken and the remaining cilantro and remove the pot from the heat.
5. While the broth is simmering, line a baking sheet or large plate with paper towels. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking and shimmery. Add a handful or two of tortilla strips—they can be touching but not overlapping—and fry just until lightly browned around the edges, about 45 seconds. Use tongs or a spider to transfer the strips to the paper towels, tossing and moving them around so they take on squiggly shapes as they cool and harden. Continue in batches until all the tortilla strips are fried, adding more oil to the pan if necessary.
6. When ready to serve, place the lettuce, avocado, and queso fresco in separate bowls to make serving easier.
7. For each serving, place a few tortillas strips and a scoop of lettuce in a soup bowl. Ladle the soup into the bowl. Top with a spoonful of avocado, sprinkle some queso fresco on top, and serve.
yellow squash soup with lemon
When I was a kid we grew all our own vegetables, especially calabasa, or squash. LOTS of squash. To be honest, I got a little sick of it (don’t worry—my mom already knows). Then I grew up and figured out a few surefire ways to show off the delicious earthiness and sweetness of summer squash. This soup is one of them; the lemon gives it great tang and the soup is unexpectedly creamy, even though there’s not a bit of cream or milk in it.
Be sure to puree this soup in batches—don’t pour the soup over the level of the top of the food processor blade. This soup is brothy before it’s pureed, and it’ll seep out of the work bowl and all over the counter if you’re not careful.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium leeks (white and light green parts), finely chopped
2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
Kosher salt to taste
6 medium yellow squash, coarsely chopped
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
6 cups Chicken Broth, Vegetable Broth, or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth
Juice of 1 small lemon (about 2 tablespoons), or to taste
1. In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Stir in the leeks, onions, garlic, and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the squash and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash begins to soften, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the chicken broth and increase the heat to high. Bring to a boil and boil gently for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes.
2. Remove and discard the thyme sprigs. Transfer the soup in 3 or more batches to the work bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth. Pour the soup back into the soup pot and reheat over medium heat until hot. Stir in the lemon juice and salt to taste. Ladle into 6 to 8 soup bowls and serve.
FROM AUNT ELSA’S KITCHEN Tie the thyme sprigs together with kitchen string so you can just pluck the bundle out after the soup is cooked.
carrot ginger soup
I love the refreshing flavor and heat of fresh ginger and this soup shows it off beautifully, especially if you use the full three tablespoons of ginger listed below. It even causes a pleasant burn in the back of your throat. If you prefer a little less assertiveness, use just two tablespoons. Either way, keep in mind that ginger becomes more pronounced