Rick Bayless' Tortilla Soup with Shredded Chard
And then some.
Pasilla chiles are the soul of this recipe. Stem, seed, and snip them into 1-inch pieces. Kitchen shears make this easy.
If a prune and a sun-dried tomato had a (much hipper) baby, it would be a pasilla chile.
Corn tortillas, nice and stale.
Cutting them in half isn't necessary, but it makes slicing them into nice even strips easier.
Cute little tortilla strips, ready for frying.
But first, a little more prep: halve that onion.
Rick Bayless just says to slice the onions, but think about how you'll want to spoon them up in the final soup. I chose thick half moons, which I then cut in half again crosswise (not pictured...
Onward to frying! There's conveniently just a 1/3 cup of vegetable oil to work with. To check if the oil's hot enough, dip a piece in. If it bubbles, it's ready!
Now quickly fry your tortilla strips in a few batches.
As soon as they turn golden, pull them out to drain with a slotted spoon and move on to the next batch. Darker brown will taste burnt.
When you're done, give the chile pieces a quick toast in the same oil, but don't let them burn.
1/3 of the toasted chiles get rehydrated for the soup base; the rest become a chewy-crackly garnish.
This part's fun: broil the tomatoes and garlic for a few minutes, till both get singed. (Alternately, use canned tomatoes and toast the garlic in a dry skillet on the stovetop.)
Under the broiler, the tomato skins quickly burst and slacken.
Look how easy they'll be to peel! Let 'em cool.
Meanwhile, get that onion sizzling.
Let it get golden.
By now, your chiles probably look like this. Drain and dump them in the blender (or keep the liquid, taste, and consider adding it to your soup).
Slide the tomatoes and garlic out of their skins and pour in a cup of broth.
And blend!
The promise of soup.
Pour the soup base over the onions through a strainer to catch any seeds or errant bits of skin.
It'll look like this at first.
But within a few minutes, it will come to this: toastier, thicker, and more intense, a perfect springboard for the rest of the broth.
Chicken broth is good, but feel free to substitute vegetable or even water.
While it simmers, get your garnishes ready, including this here chard!
Chop the chard into bites you'll want to spoon up -- if your bunch is big and aged, don't leave it in long strips. You will be sad.
Plop the chard in just long enough to warm through.
We have tortilla soup.
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Genius Recipes says: Rick Bayless has been including variations of tortilla soup in most of his cookbooks since 1987. In his headnote to this recipe, he said, "I wrote a classic but flexible recipe for it in Authentic Mexican, but I still have more to say." Don't expect it to be spicy -- pasillas (also called chiles negros) do something more surprising: they're dark, smoky, and fruity. Adapted slightly from Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen: Capturing the Vibrant Flavors of a World-Class Cuisine (Scribner, 1996)
Makes about 6 cups, serving 4 to 6 as a starter
- 4 to 6 corn tortillas, preferably stale store-bought ones
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 to 5 medium (about 1 1/2 ounces total) dried pasilla chiles, stemmed and seeded (also called chilles negros)
- 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 1 medium-large round ripe tomato (drained canned tomatoes can be substituted -- see note)
- 1 medium white onion, peeled, halved, and sliced 1/8 thick
- 6 cups good broth, preferably chicken
- Salt, about 1/2 teaspoon, depending on saltiness of broth
- 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Mexican Chihuahua cheese, or other melting cheese such as brick or Monterey Jack
- 1 large lime, cut into 6 wedges
- 4 cups loosely packed, thinly sliced (preferably red) chard leaves (you’ll need about 2/3 of a 12-ounce bunch)
- Slice the tortillas in half and then into 1/8-inch-wide strips. Heat 1/3 cup of the vegetable oil in a medium-size (8-to-9 inch) skillet over medium-high. When hot, add about 1/3 of the tortilla strips and fry, turning frequently, until they are crisp on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Fry the remaining strips in 2 batches.
- Cut chiles into rough 1-inch squares using kitchen shears. Reduce the heat under the oil to medium-low, let cool a minute, then fry the squares very briefly to toast them, 3 or 4 seconds; immediately remove and drain on paper towels. Place 1/3 of the chiles in a small bowl, cover with hot water and let rehydrate for 30 minutes, stirring regularly to ensure even soaking. Drain and discard the water. Set aside the remaining fried chiles.
- Roast the garlic and tomato on a baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler until blackened and blistered on one side, about 6 minutes; flip and broil the other side. Cool, then peel both, collecting any juices. Note: Alternately, substitute a 14.5-ounce can of tomatoes (drained) and roast the garlic in a dry skillet on the stovetop.
- In a medium-size (4-quart) pot, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-low. Add the onion and fry until brown, about 10 minutes. Place the rehydrated chiles in a food processor or blender along with the roasted garlic, tomato and 1 cup of the broth; puree until smooth. Raise the temperature under the pot to medium-high, and, when noticeably hotter, press the tomato-chile puree through a medium-mesh strainer into the fried onion. Stir for several minutes as the mixture thickens and darkens. Mix in the remaining 5 cups of broth, then simmer uncovered over medium-low, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Season with salt.
- Set out the garnishes: Make mounds of the fried tortilla strips, fried chiles, cheese and lime on a large platter. Just before serving, reheat the soup, add the sliced chard and simmer until the chard is tender, 5 or 6 minutes. Ladle into warm soup bowls and pass the garnishes for each guest to use al gusto.
- Notes for advance preparation — The soup itself can be prepared several days ahead, but the chard will be freshest if you add it only as you're reheating the soup in the last few minutes. The fried tortillas will keep for a day wrapped in foil on the counter. Reheat the broth and set out the garnishes just before serving.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!





10 months ago Cade
thank you!!!! :)))
10 months ago Cade
thank you!!!! :)))
10 months ago Cade
where is the rest of the recipe?
10 months ago Kristen Miglore
Kristen is the Senior Editor of Food52
Apologies -- 2 steps went MIA, but should be there now!