Aztec Soup

SOUP INGREDIENTS:

• 6 large ripe tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 onion
• 1 small jalapeno
• 1 tomato bouillon cube
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 6 cups water
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. cooking oil
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 8 turns of black pepper
• 1/2 - 1 tsp. chili flakes (optional)

​​​GARNISH INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cm think corn tortilla strips
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 cup of feta cheese
• Handful of freshly chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS:
1. Prepare all the garish ingredients. Stone, peel, and dice the avocado, crumble the feta cheese, finely chop cilantro and place each in their own bowl on the table.
2. Prepare all the soup ingredients. Thinly slice the onions and jalapeno (remove seeds), wash and chop tomato's into large chunks, and dice the garlic.
3. Prepare the broth. Crumble the bouillon cubes into a bowl and add 3 cups of boiling water. Stir until dissolved.
4. Heat a pan with cooking oil and add the tomatoes, salt and chili flakes. Cook the tomatoes until the are soft and the skin begins to loosen. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, peel off the skin. 
5. Heat the butter in a saucepan and gently cook the onions until soft but not colored. Add the pepper, oregano, garlic and jalapenos and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Set aside.
6. Blend the ingredients. Add the broth, tomatoes, and onion mixture to a blender and pulse lightly until smooth.
7. Pour the mixture into a soup pot and stir in the remaining 3 cups of water. Simmer on low for 10-15 minutes.
8. Serve the soup with a handful of tortilla strips, a spoonful of diced avocado, feta cheese, and cilantro on top. ​

• This recipe makes 4 servings of soup, but you can double the recipe if you want to store the broth in the fridge or freezer for an easy lunch or dinner in the future. That way, you only need to heat up the soup and prepare the garnish.

• If you have leftover chicken from the night before, you can break apart the chicken into small strips and add it to the soup to increase your protein intake. I would heat up the chicken in a separate pan and sprinkle on top of the soup with the rest of the garnish