Tortilla Soup

The recipe for this soup from Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special cookbook calls for 3 cups of corn and no beans.  Paul does not eat corn on his diet, so I substituted beans for the corn.
This soup is very thin.  It is basically a broth with vegetables, but it has a great flavor and you can thicken it up with avocado, sour cream and cheese if you want.

1 TBSP olive oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 canned chipotle pepper, diced *see note
2 tomatillos, husked, seeded, and diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium zucchini, diced (about 1 cup)
1 TBSP ground coriander
1 TBSP ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
8 cups chicken stock
1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1 tsp adobo sauce from chipotle pepper can
1 TBSP chopped cilantro, to taste
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
(the original recipe called for 3 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels instead of beans)
8 corn tortillas (6 inch) cut into 1/2 x 2 inch strips  (we just used tortilla chips dipped in and/or crushed up in the soup
avocado cubes
monterey jack cheese
sour cream

*note*  You can buy the chipotle peppers from the mexican section of the grocery.  You only use 1 pepper from the can.  You can freeze the remaining peppers.  I put the peppers and adobo sauce in my food processor and processed.  Then I froze 1 TBSP portions to use for later recipes.

In a soup pot, warm oil and saute onions, jalapenos, chipotle, tomatillos, bell peppers, and zucchini for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened.  Add the coriander, cumin, and oregano and saute for about 3 minutes.  Stir in the stock, lime juice, and adobo sauce and bring to a simmer.  Add cilantro and beans (and/or corn) and continue to simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bake the tortilla strips on an unoiled baking sheet for 15-20 minutes or until crisp at 400.

To serve, place tortilla strips in bowl and fill with soup.  Top with avocado, cheese and sour cream as desired. (Paul has his with mashed avocado only).

Here is a picture of the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce that I am going to freeze.  I processed them in my food processor, put them in about 1 TBSP scoops on a plate covered in plastic wrap and stuck them in the freezer.  Once frozen, I will put them into a ziplock bag and store in the freezer.  I will add 1 of them to other soups, stews, chili, etc.