Chicken Tortilla Soup is the perfect food to ease into fall with! Full of fresh corn and poblano peppers, it combines the last little bit of summer with a comforting, cool weather soup. For this batch I also made some homemade Queso Fresco and tortilla strips to garnish the soup with. But by all means, use store bought tortilla chips and Queso Fresco if you’re just not feeling it this week.
If you’re up for learning something new though, I’m here to tell you that it’s really easy and rewarding to make your own Queso Fresco every now and then…..it’s just milk, vinegar, salt, and an overnight rest in the fridge. Simple!
Let’s get started!
Homemade Queso Fresco
I recently read the book “Nopalito” by Gonzalo Guzman and was intrigued by the idea of making my own Queso Fresco. I’m a huge cheese fan and making my own cheese definitely sounded like something I wanted to try. But I have to say I was blown away by how easy it was! And as a bonus, it tasted way better than any I have been able to buy in Seattle.
I adapted the recipe from the book to make a smaller batch for home cooks.
The Milk
With only 3 ingredients, you will want to start with a quality, organic milk. If you’re in the Seattle area, it’s tough to beat Twin Brooks Creamery Milk.
Heat the milk on the stove to 170 degrees and then add some white vinegar and cook for the 2 more minutes. The milk will curdle like the picture below after you add the vinegar, but that’s totally normal. The curds will become your cheese.
While this mixture cools, line a fine mesh strainer with some cheesecloth.
And pour the mixture into the cheesecloth.
Squeeze out excess moisture with your hands.
And bundle the cheese up into a disk, place some weight on top, and drain at room temperature for one hour.
After the cheese has finished draining, open the cheesecloth up and sprinkle with some kosher or sea salt.
Close up the bundle again, apply some weight on top, and refrigerate overnight. In the morning you will have a flat disk of cheese.
Crumble and serve over soup, tacos, or melted in quesadillas!
Tortilla Strips
Making homemade tortilla strips is the most low effort, high yield recipe out there. You look like a rock star, but put almost no effort in at all. Using a pizza cutter, slice some corn tortillas into thin strips.
Fry in vegetable oil (heated to 350), until golden and crispy – about 2-3 minutes. Place on a paper towel to cool and sprinkle liberally with salt.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Whenever I go to a Mexican restaurant I always order the Chicken Tortilla Soup, so I guess you could say I’ve tried my fair share of recipes. I’m a big fan of a clear broth, with fresh veggies and spices inside. I don’t like a ton of texture in the soup, I like the body of the soup to come from the toppings – like tortilla strips, avocado, queso fresco, and cilantro!
Roasting Poblano Peppers
Roasting your own poblano peppers isn’t necessary, but I do like the depth of flavor it adds. Some nights, however, just aren’t roasting-a-pepper kind of nights. And in that case, you can just dice the pepper and sauté it with the onions in the first step of the recipe. Both are good options.
And since we’re friends I know you will still love me, even after you see pictures of my filthy stove. If I had all the time in the world, I would clean it after every meal – but I don’t.
To roast a pepper, just place it directly on the burner of a gas stove. Turn the pepper over a few times until all sides are blackened. You can also do this step in the oven using the “broil” function.
Place the blackened peppers in a ziplock baggie…
And seal closed.
The heat from the peppers will soften the skin and make it easier to remove from the peppers. Be sure to remove the seeds and membranes from the peppers as well to keep the heat down.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Making the actual soup is straight forward and simple. So if you want to skip all of the steps above and just get started with the soup, here’s how it’s done! Remember, there is no shame in store bought tortilla chips and cheese. It’s the way I cook 95% of the time. I just wanted to share a few options if you’re wanting to challenge yourself and learn something new.
Start by sautéing some onion, garlic, cilantro, and soft tortilla strips (save the fried ones for garnish). If you are not roasting the poblano peppers, this is the step to add them in as well.
Sauté over medium heat until the vegetables and tortilla strips are softened.
Add spices, low sodium chicken broth, canned tomato purée, chicken, and 1-2 ears of corn (or 1-2 cups of frozen corn). Simmer covered, over very low heat, for about 30 minutes, and voila! Garnish with all of your favorite toppings and dig in!
Chicken Tortilla Soup
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon garlic, finely minced (about 2 cloves)
2 tablespoon cilantro, finely minced
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
5 corn tortillas, coarsely chopped (6” size tortillas)
2 quarts low sodium chicken broth
1 (10 ounce) can tomato puree
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 roasted poblano pepper (see pictures above for tips on roasting a poblano), finely chopped and stem and seeds removed
1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 bay leaf
1-2 ears of corn, kernels removed from cob (or 1-2 cups frozen corn)
Shredded rotisserie chicken, to taste
For garnish: Avocado, Cheese, Tortilla Chips, Sour Cream
Directions
Heat the oil in the bottom of a large stockpot, over medium to medium-high heat. Add the garlic, cilantro, onion, and copped corn tortillas. Cook, stirring constantly, for several minutes until the tortillas are soft.
Add stock, tomato puree, tomato paste, lime juice, roasted poblano pepper, corn, chicken, and spices. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
Remove lid and remove bay leaves. Garnish with cheese, avocado, and tortilla chips. Season with more lime juice and salt, as desired.
Queso Fresco
4 cups organic whole milk
1/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
Cheesecloth
Directions
Heat the milk to 170 F. Add the vinegar and stir for 2 minutes until curdled. Remove from heat and let sit for 20 minutes. Pour into cheesecloth draped over a strainer. Squeeze the mixture together until the cheese forms a ball and the moisture is mostly gone. Place some weight on the cheese while it drains for one hour. Open the cheese bundle and sprinkle with sea salt. Close the bundle again, place some weight on top, and refrigerate overnight. Cube or crumble before serving. Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 10 days.
Tortilla Strips
Making homemade tortilla strips is the most low effort, high yield thing out there. Using a pizza cutter, slice some corn tortillas into thin strips. Fry in vegetable oil (heated to 350), until golden and crispy – about 2-3 minutes. Place on a paper towel to cool and sprinkle liberally with salt.
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