Tortilla Soup (Recipe #57)

        I tried making the tortilla soup recipe from the Vegan for Everybody cookbook. This tortilla soup was easy to put together, but it was not very filling. Basically, I made a salsa like base, added broth, beans, and herbs. I topped the soup with corn tortillas that were cut into strips, dressed with oil, and baked in the oven. It came together nicely, but I did add a few additions!

Upon first looking at this recipe, I noticed that it did not call for a lot of ingredients. I was interested in trying a soup that looked simple from the ingredient list and the directions. As I was putting it together, it just did not feel like a soup. To be honest, it felt like black beans in broth. The taste of the soup was good if you follow the directions, but it lacked body. After a couple bites, I knew I was still going to be hungry after finishing the meal. 

While I was cooking the coup, I prepared brown rice and opened a can of corn to add to the soup (I just had a feeling that it would be filling). I enjoyed the soup with the additions! The brown rice and corn gave the soup more body. I would be interested in adding other things to the soup. A few things that I would be interested in trying in the coupe would be a different type of bean in addition to the black bean, quinoa, and carrots (I feel like carrots belong in every soup, but that may just be me!). This soup could even be topped with a variety of things like jalapeno, radishes, or vegan sour cream.

I think this soup has a lot of potential with the way it is written, but I also think that it is necessary to add more ingredients to the soup to make it a meal. I do understand that this soup was meant to be simple. I also understand that it was meant to highlight the three components of the dish--the “flavor base”, the stock, and the garnishes. In my opinion, I felt it needed a little bit more to make a meal out of it. 

Taste: 6/10… with the additions of the brown rice and corn 8/10

Level of difficulty: 1/5

Notes for next time: I think the recipe as it was okay, but to be more filling and more satisfying it needed a few additions. I would like to add rice, corn, maybe even small chunks of carrots and celery.