Tortilla Soup à la Can

I have my grandmother to thank for the ingenious name of this recipe – although let’s keep it our little secret. That way no one will ever know that almost everything in this recipe comes from the canned vegetable aisle at the grocery store. In my humble opinion this is the best tortilla recipe out there, so your taste buds are in luck today.

This recipe makes a lot, so you need a big pot, but I have found that the longer it sits the better it tastes – so just freeze it in manageable amounts and defrost as needed. 

Tortilla Soup à la Can

2 split chicken breasts (bone in skin on)

1 can peeled whole tomatoes

1 can diced peeled tomatoes

1 can Rotel tomatoes and chilies (original)

1 can corn (not creamed)

1 can black beans (sometimes I get the seasoned kind – whatever you feel like)

1 Jar of Pace’s Picante sauce

10 corn tortillas (buy a bag and we will use the rest together in an upcoming recipe)

2 lemons

Bunch of cilantro (use the leftovers from Thai green curry)

Optional toppings:

Tortilla chips

Cheddar cheese

Avocado

Sour cream

Lemon wedges

More salsa

More cilantro

Fill a big pot up to about 2/3 full of water and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper and (if you have it around) throw in a chicken stock cube or two, some cumin or even some red (cayenne) pepper. Sometimes if I have an old carrot or some celery in my fridge I use that too. Whatever you want to flavor the water. If you just have S&P, that’s fine too. When the water is boiling put in the two chicken breasts and boil them until they are thoroughly cooked – remember this takes a pretty long time when you are boiling chicken (like 25 mins) – but always double check – you’re going to shred the chicken anyway.

When the chicken is cooked take out the breasts and set them aside to cool.  Pour out about half, maybe a little more, of the chicken water. I often try to pour out that oily film on the top of the water, but whatever floats your boat. Then return the pot to the stovetop and turn down the heat. This is the fun part.

Start by adding the vegetables that need to be drained: the corn and the beans. I drain them by using my can opener to open them almost all the way, then pushing the lid hard inside the can while dumping upside down over the sink. That way you lose the liquid but not the veggies. Add them to the pot. Then add the Rotel, the diced tomatoes, the chilies, and about ¼ of a jar of the Pace’s – more if you like it spicy.  Then comes the most fun part. Open the can of whole tomatoes, dump some if the juice in and then squish the tomatoes between your fingers so they fall apart in big pieces into the pot. Then take the tortillas and tear them up into smallish pieces and put them in the pot – they will thicken the soup as they disintegrate. Cut up your chicken and add that. Squeeze in the juice of the lemons and put the halves in the soup so it soaks up all of their fresh flavor. Last cut in some of the cilantro. An interesting fact about cilantro is that the flavor is not limited to the leaves, so go ahead and add some of the stalks too if you’re running low.

Let the soup simmer for a while and stir occasionally– as long as you want (within reason). I usually leave it while I set the table – okay, who am I kidding? My TV tray – and prepare my toppings. Serve it hot with as many of the above toppings you want or have around.

So to reiterate – you basically just dump everything in pot and let it cook for a while. You will be blown away.

Ole!