Roasted Tomato and Red Pepper Tortilla Soup with Grilled Sweet Corn and Avocado

Ingredients

1 kg tomatoes

1 red capsicum or red bullhorn chilli

1 jalapeño chilli (omit if using bullhorn chilli)

1 Tbs olive oil

1/3 cup spring onion, finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 Tbs finely chopped coriander root and stem, finely chopped

1.5 tsp hot smoked paprika

2 tsps cumin seeds

1 litre vegetable or chicken stock/ bone broth

4 corn tortillas

1 cup freshly grated sharp aged cheddar

Optional: 2 cups shredded cooked chicken (rotisserie or left over roast)

Toppings

2 corn cobs

2 Tbsp feta

2 radishes, finely sliced

1 avocado, finely sliced

2/3 cup coriander leaves

1 jalapeño, finely sliced

1/4 cup spring onion, finely sliced

1 lime, quartered

Crispy tortilla strips

2 tortillas, cut into 1 cm thick strips

2 tsp olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place tomatoes and bullhorn chilli/capsicum + jalapeño on the tray. Roast in the oven until skin has begun to blacken and they are collapsing, about 45 minutes. The bullhorn/capsicums stem should come out easily when gently pulled, if it does this, you know it’s all ready. Remove any stems and rub off the blackened skin, you don’t need to remove all of it just the particularly charcoaled bits!

You can make your crispy tortilla strips at this point.: Toss the strips with the oil to coat. Put a medium sized pan on medium high heat and once hot add the oiled strips. Cook, tossing regularly in the pan, until golden and crunchy. Drain on paper towel and set aside.

Now for the corn: Leave it in it’s husk, steam for 10 minutes. Remove the husk and then place on a grill plate or bbq. Allow the corn kernels to blacken slightly in spots. Take it off the grill, once cool enough to handle remove kernels from the cob and set aside.

Next, heat the olive oil in a large pot, once hot add the onion, coriander, garlic, cumin seeds and paprika. Cook for a couple of minutes until the onion has softened and the spices are fragrant.

Add the tomatoes and peppers to the onion, along with the stock. Bring to a boil and add the tortilla’s in torn up chunks. Simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and then blend until smooth in a blender (do it in batches if you need to) or alternatively you could use a stick blender.

Once very smooth return to the pot, turn the heat back on and once almost simmering add the cheese whilst stirring continuously. Once the cheese has been incorporated check seasoning. If you’re using the chicken add it at this point. Stir to heat through for a couple of minutes.

To serve, divide soup amongst bowls and layer on the toppings in the centre, leave the strips for last so they stay nice and crispy. Serve with the lime on the side to squeeze over just before eating.

From thehealthyhunterblog.com