Summer Tortilla Soup

The base of this soup is deep, rich, and velvety smooth with layers of spice, dancing in the background. It’s made with a medley of summer vegetables before being finished with black beans, golden kernels of corn, and tender bites of chicken. No one will believe there’s not a lick of cream involved or how easy it is to make!

Who doesn’t love tortilla soup? This version offers a unique combination of summer vegetables along with gorgeous spices, making it impossible to pass up. Though I have another great recipe for Tortilla Soup, I’m always willing to expand my options. The colorful blend of ingredients in this recipe caught my eye and convinced me it was a “must try”.

Backtracking a bit, the engineer in my life gave me a Vitamix some years ago. Emily has one and when he saw it, he got caught up in the “mechanics” of the machine. He doesn’t cook, but he loves equipment, which always works out well for me!

The base for this soup is chicken stock and vegetables – again, not a lick of cream. Vegetables include plump, ripe Roma tomatoes, carrots, celery, sweet onion, garlic, summer squash, red bell peppers, cabbage and mushrooms. Spice things up chili powder, cumin, freshly cracked black pepper and a touch of kosher salt.

Toss everything in the blender and watch as the soup develops a deep, rich flavor and silky texture.

Though it’s wonderful at this point, we add shredded chicken, corn and black beans to the base, then top with crispy tortilla chips for the ultimate in flavors.

When I make soup in my Vitamix, I typically make multiple batches. Once you have the vegetables prepped, the soup comes together quickly. One batch will make enough for two, but you’ll definitely want leftovers. The quantity of ingredients listed will make five batches, enough to feed a group or provide you with multiple servings.

Summer Tortilla Soup

For the soup base you’ll need:

5 cups chicken stock

5 Roma tomatoes, cut in half

5 carrots, cut in half

5 stalks of celery, cut in half

1 large, sweet onion

5 cloves of garlic

1 large yellow summer squash

1 large red bell pepper

1 package slaw mix

5 mushrooms, portabella or button

2-½ teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2-½ teaspoons chili powder, or to taste

2-½ teaspoons cumin

For each batch:

1 cup chicken stock

1 Roma tomato, cut in half

1 carrot, cut in half

1 stalk of celery, cut in half

1 slice sweet onion

1 clove of garlic

1 slice of yellow summer squash

1 slice of red bell pepper

1 handful of slaw mix

1 mushroom

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon chili powder, or to taste

½ teaspoon cumin

Add all of the ingredients to the Vitamix starting with chicken stock.

Make certain the lid is on securely and process for at least three minutes or you can use the “hot soup” feature on your Vitamix.

Repeat with remaining ingredients, transferring each batch to your stockpot to heat thoroughly.

To the soup base add:

1 can black beans, 15 ounces, drained

1 bag frozen corn, 10 ounces

2 to 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded

Add the black beans, corn and chicken. Cook over medium until all ingredients are hot.

To serve, layer a bowl with a handful of tortilla chips and ladle the hot soup over the top.

Serves 8 to 10.

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