Mexican Tortilla Ball Soup

By stancec44

What do you make with a lot of leftover tortillas? Not just tortilla soup, but how about tortilla dumplings? These dumplings, from Mexican cooking sage Josefina Velázquez de León, get pan-seared, then simmered in a rich cream of tomato soup.

Ingredients

• 1 lb. stale tortillas, torn
• 1 cup milk
• 2 oz. grated cotija cheese
• 6 epazote leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 small white onion, roughly chopped
• 1 large egg plus 1 yolk
• 3 oz. lard
• 1 ⁄2 cup heavy cream
• 8 cups beef stock
• 6 tbsp. tomato purée
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Details

Adapted from saveur.com

Preparation

Step 1

In a large bowl, soak the tortillas in the milk until soft, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a food processor along with the cheese, epazote, garlic, onion, egg and yolk, salt, and pepper and purée until smooth. Roll the mixture into 2-inch balls.

Heat lard in a large saucepan over medium-high. Cook the tortilla balls, turning as needed, until golden, 5 minutes. Transfer balls to a plate and set aside.

Add the tomato purée and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add the beef stock, salt, and pepper and boil simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tortillas balls and cream and cook 5 minutes more.