What's Cooking: Corn & Tortilla Soup

My friend Jaymie posted this recipe on her site a few years ago and it looked really good. In her post she discribed the hard time she had finding poblano chilis (despite living in an area where it wouldn't normally be an issue). She settled on canned poblanos and it turned out good. When I tried this recipe for the first time, I couldn't even find canned poblanos!!! I was livid! I used green chili instead which turned out pretty good. I had a bit of an issue cooking the tortilla strips as well. All the strips on the outside of the pan burnt while all the strips on the inside weren't cooked enough. Maybe my oven is hotter than I think...?

Wadas Family Review: The soup turned out pretty good - not as spicy as I thought it might be (probably because of the poblano issue). Rob liked it and I really enjoyed it too. It's definitely a recipe we'll keep around to make in the future. (hopefully we can find the right ingredients next time!)

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 poblano chilis (or canned polanos if you cannot find fresh)
• 6 corn tortillas, halved then cut crosswise into 1/2 inch thick strips
• 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin (i used a little extra to mix in the soup as well)
• 6 ears of fresh corn (or approx 20 oz of frozen corn kernels)
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped (i used 4)
• 1 32-ounce container (4 cups) vegetable broth
• 1 14/5-ounce can of fire-roasted diced or crushed tomatoes (i used diced)
• 1 avocado, chopped
• 1 lime, halved
• 2 tablespoons of cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• salt & pepper to taste

PREPARATION
Preheat the broiler. Broil the poblanos until blackened, 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover and let cool. Peel, seed and chop the poblanos. (you can skip this step if you buy canned vs. fresh)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet, toss the tortilla strps with 1 tablespoon of oil and the cumin. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes, season with salt.
Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over a medium-high heat. Add the corn and cook until charred at the edges, about 10-12 minutes. Add the red onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the broth, tomatoes and poblanos. (I let it simmer for a bit after adding the broth, etc)
Divide the tortilla strips among 4 soup bowls. Add the avocado and a squeeze of lime juice. Ladle soup over the avocado. Top with cilantro; serve with sour cream.

[Recipe originated from Rachel Ray Magazine. Posted by Jaymie. ]