I had a craving, so I came home from church and got crackin! A few weeks before a friend an I tried the tortilla soup at Qdoba and I knew it would soon become an obsession. Several years ago a family member made something like this for me, but it was before my vegetarian days so I hadn't thought to attempt to recreate it since hers was a focus on chicken. I cracked open my "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" book and got to brainstorming.
As always I made some modifications to the original recipe. I'm very pleased with how it turned out though! Note, I doubled what is below to give myself plenty of leftovers - I have three full mason jars left, plus the lunch I'm about to consume.
1-2 Tbsp oil (vegetable, canola, peanut)
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 quart veggie stock or water (I did 1/2 and 1/2 - you can of course use chicken as well)
1 can black beans
cilantro, to taste
oregano, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste
lime wedges
cheese (I prefer colby/jack mix)
sour cream
tortilla chips (original recipe calls for home frying tortilla shells, but I had a bag of stale chips to use!)
Heat oil in large saucepan and add onions. Cook for about 5 minutes before adding garlic and jalapenos, cook another 5 minutes. Add stock, tomatoes, black beans, and season with cilantro, oregano and s&p to taste. Heat through, simmering for ~20 minutes and adjusting seasonings as needed. Serve with a lime wedge, spoonful of sour cream, handful of cheese and chips (all or none of these will make a delicious soup!). Depending on your spice tolerance adjust jalapeno usage or addition of sour cream accordingly. I like to add a few crushed chips as I eat to give it more crunch. Original recipe calls for blending the soup, but I like the chunkiness. I meant to add mushrooms the first time round but forgot - beans are not in the original.
Yummy!
