Recipe: Mexican Gumbo or Tortilla Soup

This recipe is really two recipes in one. For starters I made a great tortilla soup, and then by tarting it up with a few additional fixings, you get a “Mexican Gumbo.” I ordered something similar at Qdoba, a casual dining chain restaurant, and once I tasted it I wanted to do a total facepalm. Everybody’s got their own favorite tortilla soup recipe, but adding some rice and beans and making it into a stew? So simple and yet so genius. How did we all miss it for so long?

Tortilla Soup
3 links of chorizo
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
64 oz chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
diced cilantro

Mexican Gumbo
choice of beans
rice
cheese
sour cream
salsa
tortilla chips
tortilla soup

For the soup:

Remove the chorizo from its casings and crumble into a hot pan. Brown. Toss in the onion and cook with the sausage until translucent. Add all the rest of the ingredients and let simmer for at least 30 minutes. Adjust the spice to taste.

To make into a gumbo, layer some rice and beans into a bowl, top with the soup, and then add your choice of toppings. Be sure to crumble tortilla chips on the top because that crunch is so yummy with the soup.

I went a bit easy on the spices, but if you’re going to use the soup in the gumbo you’ll want to make it a little bit spicier than you like. The rice and beans really bring down the heat level, so it can stand up to a lot more spice than if you were eating it on its own.