Spicy Tortilla Soup

From Michael Slaboch

Serves 4-6 peeps

Look how pretty that is! This was a very tasty soup – chock full of fresh peppers and a lot of hot-to-trot flavors. Skip the cheese and, voila, it’s vegan.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Canola Oil
1 red pepper – seeded and chopped
1 green pepper – seeded and chopped
1 red onion, chopped and finely diced
2 cloves garlic – minced
2 tablespoons fresh oregano (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 jalapeno peppers – seeded and chopped
3 fresh tomatoes or 1 cup diced canned tomatoes with juice
4 cups cold water (or chicken stock)
1 fresh squeezed lime
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
fresh cilantro – chopped
fresh tortilla chips – crushed
grated Monterey Jack cheese
Kosher salt

Preparation

Heat the canola oil in a sauce pot over medium-high heat. Saute the red and green peppers, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, and chili powder for 3 minutes, until the onion is translucent, stirring often. Add the jalapeno and tomatoes; continue stirring for one minute. Add the fresh lime juice and cold water.

Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Add the black beans and corn
and return the soup to a boil. Remove the soup from the heat, put crushed tortilla chips in the bottom of the bowl, stir in the cilantro and cheese and season with kosher salt.