SOUP AND BREAD

SOUP AND BREAD
Maybe it’s the farm girl in me, but a meal of soup and bread is comfort food. Growing up, it was almost always “mojakka”(a Minnesota Finnish stew) and rye bread. I still crave the combination.
Soup and simple bread is food of common folk that encourages conversation and relaxation. Just look into the ethnic foods of any country and you find ideas. Latin American black bean soup matches with cornbread. Indian Mulligatawni with pita bread, or Russian cabbage borscht with black bread are a few examples.
So, pick your menu, bring the soup pot to the table, put the bread on a board, light candles and turn down the lights. Here I’m offering a Southwestern soup and bread combination.
Although it is springtime, evenings are still chilly. What’s more, this time of year is busier than ever. But that doesn’t mean that you have to entirely abandon the idea of entertaining. If you, like I, want something tasty, economical, colorful, and not too time consuming to prepare – just give this soup and bread combination a try. You can make the soup ahead, cool and refrigerate and then reheat it for serving later. It makes a generous eight servings, so if you cook for just two or four, you have soup for more than one meal.
This Southwestern Chicken Tortilla Soup is like one that I enjoyed in Santa Fe in an outdoor café. It was served in wide bowls with the toppings on the side. This is my attempt at copying it. The toppings add color and freshness to the soup.
The Cowboy Beer and Cheddar Bread is my adaptation of a beer bread recipe I picked up last summer when I visited Colorado Dude Ranches. It’s incredibly simple to stir up and is good hot from the oven or sliced and toasted the next day.

SOUTHWESTERN CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
You can find dried ancho chilies in the produce section of the supermarket. The chili itself is mild, but the seeds are spicy. The flavor of ancho chilies rounds out the distinctive flavor of this soup.
Makes 8 servings
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 teaspoons ground chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 cups chicken broth
1 dried ancho chili
2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 cooked, shredded chicken breasts
3 cups frozen whole kernel corn
Garnishes:
2 ripe avocados, peeled, diced
Tortilla chips or strips
2 fresh tomatoes, diced
Chopped fresh cilantro
Shredded Jack or Cheddar cheese
Sour Cream

In a 4-quart soup pot, heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic, bell pepper, chili powder and cumin and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes until vegetables are tender and mixture is aromatic. Add the chicken stock and ancho chile. Cook over medium-high heat for 15 minutes or just until the ancho softens. Remove from the soup, pull off the stem and discard the seeds. (If you prefer a spicier soup, leave the seeds in.)
Put the chile with the diced tomatoes into the lender and process until smooth. Add to soup pot and continue simmering 1 hour. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Before serving, add the chicken and corn and heat to serving temperature.
Serve the garnishes separately to add to each serving of soup as desired.

COWBOY BEER AND CHEDDAR BREAD
This is a stir-it-up bread that takes just a few minutes to mix. If you bake it in the convection oven, the baking time is reduced by about one-fourth.
Makes 1 loaf
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 bottle (12 ounces) beer, any kind will do – even non-alcoholic brands
Butter
Preheat the oven to 350*F. (325*F. for convection oven).
In a large bowl, combine the flour, cheese, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the beer and mix with a fork until all dry ingredients are moistened. Don’t overmix. Spread the dough into a 5 x 9-inch loaf pan. Bake for 40 to 55 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean and dry. Brush top of hot loaf with butter.