Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup belongs to the border, that fertile culinary territory where Mexican tradition meets Texas pragmatism. It emerged from the need to stretch ingredients and feed families well on little. What started as a way to use stale tortillas became one of America's great comfort foods.

The foundation is everything. You'll char tomatoes and onions until they blacken in spots, toast dried chiles until they perfume your kitchen with their earthy heat. These steps cannot be rushed or skipped. The depth of flavor in your finished soup depends entirely on how bravely you commit to building that base. Pale, timid vegetables make pale, timid soup.

I've watched home cooks approach this recipe with unnecessary fear. They worry about dried chiles, about charring, about the whole production of it. But this is fundamentally simple food, peasant food elevated by technique rather than expense. Once you understand the principles, you'll make it from memory, adjusting heat and garnishes to your family's taste. That's how recipes should work.