Like I promised, this post is all about Mexican food. We are starting our Mexican weeks with tortilla soup. Which can be seen as an equivalent to the noodle soup we know here in Germany. I love soups, but eating the same recipes over and over again can be a bit tiring. That is why I am always excited to try something different. Like coconut soup. But back to our little trip to Mexico. This soup contains basically most of the important ingredients of the Mexican cuisine – garlic, tomatoes, chili, avocado, tortillas and cilantro. The combination might sound a bit weird but I promise, it tastes great. And it is also very filling. Perfect for dinner after a long, stressful day.

The recipe itself is not very complicated and the true definition of soulfood. The onions are steamed for at least 10 minutes before adding garlic and polenta and even after adding canned tomatoes the soup needs to cook for another 15  minutes. It is one of those recipes that take time but at the same time it is very relaxing. And besides, is there anything better than the smell of steamed onions and garlic? I love it. No matter how bad of a mood I might be in, as soon as I come home and start cooking, this smell makes everything better.

Basically, this recipe can be divided into two parts. Cooking the soup and preparing the topping.

First step: chopping vegetables.

Second step: steaming vegetables.

Third step: adding the topping and enjoying the soup!

Recipe (for 6):

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 onions

3 garlic cloves

100 g Polenta

2 cans of tomatoes

1tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. fresh or dried oregano

Salt and pepper

1,5 Liter vegetable broth

For the topping:

1 Avocado

Lemon juice

300 ml oil

2 corn or wheat tortillas

2 jalapeño peppers

100 g goat cheese

Cilantro

1) Chop onion and garlic clove. Heat oil in a pan and let the onions steam on medium heat for about 10 to 15 minutes until they are really soft. Add garlic and polenta and steam for another 5 minutes. Now add tomatoes, sugar, oregano, salt and pepper. Roast for 5 minutes, then add vegetable broth and let cook for 10 minutes. Puree the soup, using an emulsion blender. It has a rather thick consistency.

2) For the topping, cut open the avocado, remove the peel and cut into little pieces. Mix with lemon juice, that way the avocado doesn´t turn brown. Cut the tortillas into little strips. Chop jalapeño pepper (but take out the seeds beforehand, they are the part that is the most spicy).

3) Heat 300 ml oil in a pan and fry the tortillas trips until they are brown and crunchy. Afterwards, fry the chopped jalapeño pepper for a couple of seconds.

4) Serve the soup with avocado, fried tortilla strips, jalapeño pepper, feta cheese and chopped cilantro.

As you can see in the picture, I didn´t get fresh cilantro so I used fresh oregano. Be careful with the jalapeño pepper. Don´t rub your eyes or other sensitive body parts after you chopped them. I read that washing your hands with olive oil and then with soap helps. Do you have any secret tip?

Finals are coming up (the last ones until I graduate – yaaay) so it might take a while for the next post to be published. I already have a plan what to make, the only thing I am missing is time right now. Well, you do what you gotta do. See you in a bit!