MENESTRA OR SOPA DE VERDURAS (MARKET VEGETABLE SOUP)

Menestra or Sopa De Verduras (Market Vegetable Soup) image

Provided by ratherbeswimmin

Categories Vegetable

Time 8h

Yield 6 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 18

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1 poblano chile, roasted, seeded, and diced
1/2 cup dried garbanzo beans
1 small leek, trimmed of dark green leaves, cleaned, quartered, and sliced
1 small white onion, diced
1/2 small carrot, peeled and finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels
2 cups finely diced mixed seasonal vegetables (zucchini, green beans, red bell pepper, yams, green cabbage, white mushrooms, peas, kale, etc.)
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
2 dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
8 cups water (or vegetable broth)
2 guajillo chilies, stemmed and seeded
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 corn tortillas
2 ounces crumbled Cotija cheese

Steps:

Combine all the soup ingredients in a 5-quart slow cooker, cover, and cook on LOW for 7 hours, checking occasionally and add more water (or broth) if needed.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.
While the soup cooks, make the garnishes.
Heat a heavy skillet over med-high heat.
Add the chiles and toast on both sides, turning occasionally and pressing down with a spatula, until dry and quite dark, but not burned.
Remove from the pan.
When the chiles are cool enough to handle, crumble into small pieces.
In the same skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.
Cut the tortillas into 1/2-inch squares and fry until crisp; drain on a paper towel.
Serve the soup very hot, garnished with some of the fried tortilla squares, a sprinkle of crumbled chiles, and some cotija cheese.