This is my version of sopa de tortilla, one of the most popular soups in Mexico and a common restaurant offering at Mexican restaurants the world over. Said to have originated in the state of Tlaxcala, it’s a mildly spiced chile and tomato broth served over crunchy fried strips of tortilla and finished with chunks of cheese, avocado and other textured toppings. Despite growing up Mexican-American, this soup wasn’t served at home since our family members migrated from other parts of Mexico with different culinary traditions (like menudo). Once I moved to Mexico City, however, tortilla soup seemed to be everywhere and it soon became one of my favorite meals in a bowl.

I wrote this recipe after being asked for one by my lovely friend Sarah, who lives with her husband on a gorgeous homestead in the Australian bush. When I received her request, it felt like she’d caught me with my pants down because I had no recipe to share. So I sprang into action, reviewing dozens of recipes and experimenting in my kitchen—and this is the result. My version has a fuller, smokier flavor than many others because I char the vegetables before I puree them for the broth, which is then thickened with toasted tortilla powder, a “secret” ingredient that has become a staple in my kitchen.

Admittedly, this recipe can feel rather laborious, but that’s mostly due to making the toasted tortilla powder and fried tortilla strips. If you make these ahead of time, you can make this soup in about an hour—and probably even faster since I’ll bet you’re more organized than me.

I rely on traditional Mexican ingredients like chicken stock and lard. And while homemade chicken stock tastes best (I prepare mine with chicken bones, chicken feet and avocado leaves), many Mexican home cooks use powdered chicken broth or bouillon cubes so there’s no need to stress about the authenticity of your stock. And while many of you shun lard because we’ve been conditioned to avoid saturated fats, it adds that hard-to-pin-down flavor that tastes like a Mexican grandma’s cooking. Use it sparingly for its flavor—as you would butter—and you probably won’t give yourself a heart attack.

To be honest, it’s the toppings that make truly make this soup memorable. The more ingredients you top your soup with, the better it will be—just like a cup of frozen yogurt. The most traditional garnishes for tortilla soup are avocado chunks, cubes of panela cheese, pork crackling (chicharrón), fried strips of pasilla chile and table cream. That said, the range of toppings you can use are endless and you should be limited only by your imagination. Try adding shredded chicken, diced onion, cilantro leaves, squash blossoms, sautéed cactus strips or fried grasshoppers (chapulines). And don’t forget to include lime wedges on the side since the tang of citrus truly brings this soup alive.

This recipe yields four generous servings or eight small side portions.

Make it vegan!

If you prefer to avoid animal products, substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock, olive oil for the lard and skip the pork crackling and dairy altogether. Top your soup with raw julienned vegetables and cubes of pre-cooked potato or chayote. Add a sprinkling of corn nuts or toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) for extra crunch.

Ingredients

Soup

500 g [1 lb] tomatoes (around 4 Roma tomatoes)
15g [½ oz] pasilla chiles (around 2-3 chiles)
15g [½ oz] guajillo chiles (around 2-3 chiles)
½ medium onion
3 cloves garlic, in their peels
1 tablespoon lard
2 liters [2 qt] chicken stock
¼ cup [50 g/2 oz] toasted tortilla powder
1 stalk of fresh epazote* or 1 teaspoon dried epazote (see below; omit if unavailable)
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
250 g [½ lb] tortillas (around 16 tortillas), preferably on the stale side
100 g [4 oz] lard

*While epazote is one of the most commonly used aromatics in Mexico, its unusual pungent flavor cannot be replicated by other herbs. So if you don’t have access to fresh or dried epazote, it’s perfectly fine to just leave it out—no substitutions required.

Garnishes

These are the ingredients for the most traditional toppings for tortilla soup in central Mexico. As mentioned above, there’s no need to constrain yourself to the garnishes listed here.

2 pasilla chiles
250 g [½ lb] panela cheese, paneer or any type of fresh white cheese
1-2 avocados
4 Mexican limes or key limes
50 g [2 oz] pork crackling (chicharrón)
200 ml [7 fl oz] table cream (such as sour cream or crème fraîche)

Instructions

1. Make the toasted tortilla powder.

2. Prepare the fried tortilla strips.

a. Cut the tortillas into strips. Take a few tortillas, slice them in half, stack them on top of one another, then slice into strips (about 1 cm or ½ inch wide). Continue until all tortillas have been sliced.

b. Melt 100 g lard (about ½ cup) in a small frying pan over medium heat. Once it starts to smoke, add a small handful of tortilla strips. Do not overcrowd the pan or the tortilla won’t crisp properly. Fry the tortilla strips, moving them frequently with a spatula to ensure uniform crisping. Once crisp and golden (about 1½ to 2 minutes), remove and let drain on paper towels.

c. Save the hot lard for the next step of the recipe.

This is what your fried tortilla strips should look like.

3. Prepare the pasilla chile garnish.

a. Take 2 pasilla chiles and wipe clean and remove the stems. Then, cut an opening down the length of one side of each chile to remove the seeds.

b. Slice the chiles into strips (about 1 cm or ½ inch wide) across the width.

c. Using the hot lard you used to fry the tortilla strips, fry the pasilla chile strips for 20-25 seconds, moving constantly, until they start to blister. The chile will burn easily, so be prepared to remove the fried chile strips immediately. Let drain on paper towels.

These look about right—nicely blistered but not burnt.

4. Char the vegetables.

a. Preheat your comal or skillet over high heat. You’ll know it’s ready when you flick water with your fingers and it immediately beads up.

b. Take the guajillo and pasilla chiles (2-3 of each), wipe them clean and remove the stems. Then, cut an opening down the length of one side of each chile to remove the seeds. Set aside.

c. On the hot comal or skillet, char the 500 g (1 lb) of tomatoes (leave them whole), the onion half and the 3 cloves of garlic in their peels (the peels are left on to help prevent burning while on the stovetop; remove them before blending into puree). You’ll know the tomatoes are ready when they have charred spots on all sides and are beginning to soften. Set aside in a bowl.

d. Quickly toast the cleaned, seeded chiles. Toast them until they begin to blister, then flip over—about 20 seconds on each side or else they will burn (which creates a bitter flavor). Remove from heat immediately.

The tomatoes are ready once they are charred on all sides and are beginning to soften.

Once your chiles have blistered like this guajillo chile, immediately remove them from the heat source.

5. Make a vegetable puree for the soup base.

a. Preheat your stockpot over medium-high heat. Your pot should have a capacity of at least 3 liters (3 quarts).

b. Coarsely chop the charred tomatoes, onion and garlic.

c. Blend together the chopped charred vegetables and toasted chiles. Continue to blend until you have a smooth puree.

d. Add a tablespoon of melted lard to the stockpot. Use the lard that you previously fried the tortilla and chile strips—it will now be nicely flavored. :)

e. Pour the vegetable puree into the stockpot and fry in the lard for 3-4 minutes. Keep moving the puree constantly until it thickens and reduces slightly.

Once the puree can form soft ridges, it’s ready.

6. Finish the broth.

a. Add 2 liters of chicken stock to the stockpot to dilute the vegetable puree. Stir to blend and bring the broth to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the temperature to low and let simmer covered for 10-12 minutes.

b. Stir in ¼ cup of ground dried tortilla powder and blend well to ensure that there are no clumps. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste then add the epazote. Let simmer uncovered 3-5 minutes more.

7. Prepare the garnishes.

a. This recipe includes preparations for the six most common tortilla soup garnishes: lime wedges, table cream, avocado chunks, cubes of panela cheese, pork crackling and fried chile strips. The chile strips are already done, but there are five more toppings to prepare.

b. Cut the limes into quarters and place in a bowl.

c. Scoop the table cream into a bowl.

d. Cut the avocado in half, remove the seed and cut flesh into cubes. Arrange pieces on a small plate.

e. Cut the 250g (½ lb) of panela cheese into cubes and set on a small plate.

f. Put pork crackling on a small plate. If pieces are large, break them into bite-sized morsels.

g. Place fried chile strips on a small plate.

h. Put all garnishes in the center of the dining table.

8. Ready to serve.

a. Place a handful of fried tortilla strips in each bowl.

b. Gently pour broth over the tortilla strips. Use about one cup for a small serving and two cups for a larger portion.

c. Let each diner garnish their soup as desired with the prepared toppings on the table.

A naked bowl of tortilla soup. It will taste so much better once dressed.