Taco Soup

Sauté in French means “to jump” and can be a method of cooking or a way to describe a dish (such as “sautéed chicken”). The reason the French used the word “to jump” for this technique is because you are cooking food quickly at a very high heat, and moving the food around almost constantly with your spoon or spatula, so it looks like the food is “jumping” in the pan.

Proper sautéing starts with preheating your pan. While preheating is recommended for most cooking, when sautéing it is of utmost importance. One of the most common and crucial mistakes made when sauteing is not getting the pan hot enough. Most will take cold ingredients right out of the refrigerator, put them into a cold pan and stick it on the flame. What will happen is you will end up steaming your food in the juice it exudes, and it will be very dry. If you are sautéing onions (either for in a dish or as a topping), they will become rubbery; if you are sautéing meat it will be overcooked and rubbery.

This recipe calls for sautéed beef and vegetables. You will use the fat rendered from the meat to sauté it, and then a small amount of beef fat for the onions. These two ingredients cook very quickly over high heat.  The rest of the soup just needs to be heated through and it's ready to eat. With extra liquid and undrained tomato compared to a traditional chili, there’s lots of broth to soak up with tortilla chips. I call it Taco Soup, but Jude calls it a “Tortilla Spa Bath.”

Taco Soup 

 Ingredients:

3 pounds ground beef
2 medium onions
10 cloves garlic (roasted)
1 quart low sodium beef broth
1 15 oz jar salsa
2 28 oz cans roasted diced tomatoes
1 tsp coriander
2 tsp salt (divided)
1 tbsp cilantro
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chipotle powder

For garnish: restaurant style corn chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat a large dutch oven or stockpot over high heat.

2. While your pan is preheating, prepare your onions and garlic. On a cutting board, peel and dice your onions, and mince your garlic. Put each in a small bowl to the side.

3. Once your pan is up to temperature, crumble your ground beef into pot.

The beef should start to sizzle, signaling that moisture within the beef is starting to evaporate. Stir frequently, and listen for the sizzling to cease.

4. When the sizzling stops, turn the burner off and drain the meat into a separate bowl with a slotted spoon. Pour off most of the grease, leaving about 3-4 Tbsp in the pan for the onions.

5. Turn the burner back on to medium, and add the onions to the pot. Sauté them in a similar fashion as the beef, stirring frequently and listening for the sizzling to cease. The onions will caramelize (turn brown) a little, but should turn to a translucent color. If they start to burn, turn the heat down a little until they are cooked through.

6. Once your onions have cooked, add the garlic, and saute for 1-2 minutes until the garlic is heated through.

7. Deglaze your pot with about ¼ c of your broth, stirring to get the brown bits (called fond) dislodged from the bottom of the pan. Then add the rest of the broth, followed by the salsa, tomatoes, and spices. Stir to combine and add the meat back to the pot.

8. Cook over medium heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Serve with the corn chips.

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