Crumly Cogwheels Tortilla Soup

This is restaurant-style tortilla soup with a smart shortcut: everything aromatic gets puréed in a blender before it ever hits the pot. Cilantro, garlic, onion, serrano chiles, and tomatoes with green chiles go in raw and come out as a smooth, flavor-packed base that simmers into the chicken broth for an hour.

The puréeing trick is the difference between a clear, ho-hum broth and a deeply colored, perfumed soup. Raw aromatics blended together release every cell of flavor, no chopping required.

The cornstarch slurry stirred in at the end is what gives the soup its signature silky body. Without it, the broth is thin and underwhelming. Don’t skip it.

Fry the tortilla strips in hot oil until they’re shatter-crisp. They go in the bottom of each bowl first, so the hot broth softens them slightly without turning them mushy. Sliced avocado, shredded Monterey Jack, and pulled chicken layer in next.

Chef Tips

• Char the tomatoes and chiles under a broiler for 5 minutes before puréeing for smoky, deeper flavor.
• Fry tortillas at 365°F (185°C). Cool oil makes greasy strips; hot oil burns them in seconds.
• Pull the chicken into shaggy pieces, not neat cubes. Long shreds soak up more broth and feel more authentic.
• Add the avocado and tortilla strips bowl-by-bowl, not to the pot. Avocado turns mushy and tortillas go soggy on contact with hot liquid in batch.

Variations

• Stir in ½ cup of black beans and a handful of corn kernels with the chicken.
• Squeeze a lime wedge over each bowl at serving for bright acidity.
• Use roasted poblano chiles in place of serranos for milder, smoky heat.