To make tortilla strips:

Step 1
Cut about 5 corn tortillas into strips. Line a large dinner plate with paper towels and set aside.

Step 2
In a small saucepan add about ½ cup vegetable oil and heat to 350F over medium-high heat. You can also just drop one strip of tortilla into the oil to test it; if the oil around the tortilla sizzles and the tortilla starts to fry, it’s ready. Add a handful of the tortilla strips to the oil and fry for about 3 minutes. Transfer tortilla strips to the prepared dinner plate and immediately sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining tortilla strips.

To make the sopa:

Step 1
Turn one burner on a gas stove to high. Using tongs carefully place two tomatoes at a time over the flame, turning every couple of minutes or so until tomato skins have charred and blackened, about 5 minutes in total. Repeat with the remaining two tomatoes and place all four in a bowl.

Step 2
Repeat this process with the poblano peppers. Once charred, remove peppers from the flame or your oven if oven-roasting and place in a bowl covered with a lid or just a paper towel.

Step 3
In a dutch oven set over medium-high heat, drizzle in ½ tablespoon of the vegetable oil. Heat oil until it starts to shimmer. Add zucchini to the pot in a single layer and leave them untouched for about 2 minutes, until one side of the zucchini has browned and caramelized. Flip zucchini now and season with salt and pepper; cook just for an additional minute. Remove zucchini from the pot and set into a small bowl.

Step 4
At this point you want to remove the skin from the poblanos using the backside of a butter knife, or just peel the skin with your hands. Remove the seeds if you want, and the stems, otherwise just roughly chop the peppers and set aside.

Step 5
To the dutch oven add about a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the onions, garlic cloves, Mexican oregano, black pepper, about ½ teaspoon salt, ground cumin, smoked paprika, smoked salt, torn tortilla pieces, chopped poblano pepper(s) and stir. Let the onions, garlic, and pepper(s) cook; you can really let the vegetables get pretty brown and caramelized at this stage since you are developing flavor for your sopa base, a good 10 minutes.

Step 6
To the dutch oven, add the roughly chopped chipotles, adobo sauce, and 1 can of pinto beans. Stir, and let the chipotles marry with everything else while you dice the tomatoes.

Step 7
Roughly dice or chop the charred roma tomatoes and add to the dutch oven, along with the cherry tomatoes. Stir everything together and let the tomatoes cook in order to release their juices; this usually happens within 15 minutes on medium-high heat.

Step 8
Taste the sopa base now and adjust seasoning, if/as needed.

Step 9
Turn the flame on your stove off now and let the sopa base cool a bit, about 10 minutes. Either using an immersion blender or transferring the tomato/pepper mixture to a high-powered blender, blend sopa base until desired consistency.

Step 10
If you used a high-powered blender, transfer the sopa base back to the dutch oven, and turn the flame to medium-high. Add the masa flour to the pot, if using, and stir with a wooden spoon. Next add the grated piloncillo or brown sugar and red wine vinegar and stir.

Step 11
Add the can of enchilada sauce and whisk everything together. Whisk in the vegetable stock and turn heat down to medium. Let the broth simmer on medium for at least 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, taste the broth to check for seasoning. You may need to add more salt; if the broth is tasting too spicy for your liking, drizzle in some honey or sprinkle in a little brown sugar at a time, whisk, and let it continue to simmer on medium for an additional 10 minutes. Taste broth again to test for seasoning.

Step 12
If the broth is seasoned to your liking, add the corn, remaining beans, and previously cooked zucchini. Let sopa simmer on low now, for at least 15 minutes.

Step 13
When ready to serve, ladle sopa into bowls; top with the fried tortilla strips, cilantro leaves, slices of creamy avocado if you are lucky enough to have access to them, crumbled queso fresco (or grated Monterey Jack cheese), and a wedge of lime.

Notes

• Use this recipe as a guide.
• Adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary.
• Taste test as you go.
• Have fun in the kitchen!

Let us know if you make this recipe! Tag your photos with #freshharvestga on Instagram.

Teresa Finney is a recipe writer living in Atlanta with a passion for gardening and good food. Check out Teresa’s Twitter page for more recipes, food inspiration, and more!