Tortilla Pinto Bean Soup

I have another confession to make. I love soup. I'd eat soup for every meal of every day. I'm probably the only member of my household who can say that, so, needless to say I don't find myself whipping up soup all too often. Top that off with the little bit of sunshine we've finally began to see and soup seems to be the last thing on anyone's mind. Except me, of course! So, I figured it was time to spice things up. If only there was a margarita along side this bowl of soup today... one can dream.

I would have topped this with coriander and yogurt... had our coriander plant not been dying and my daughter hadn't hogged all the yogurt, le sigh!

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red pepper, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can plum or diced tomatoes (if plum drain and chop the tomatoes, retain the juice)
2 cups chicken stock
1 can pinto beans (or black beans, I was just out and delighted to find out that pinto beans worked wonderfully)

1 tsp dried oregano (or throw in fresh at the end)
1 tsp dried coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)

top with freshly cut coriander leaves

Directions

Heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the red pepper chunks and onion. After a few minutes, throw in the garlic and cover for a few minutes.

Add the can of tomatoes.
Stir in your choice of beans, chicken stock, oregano, coriander, cumin, salt, white pepper, and cayenne.

Allow to simmer stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.

Remove roughly half of the soup to a blender and whiz it up, then add it back to the pot of soup. It'll give it a little smoothness. Simmer for another 10 or so minutes.

Serve with tortillas for dipping (ooo if you let the tortilla get soggy and then eat it together, its soo tasty), a dollop of sour cream or yogurt, and top with fresh coriander. I used basil, which was also delicious.

Now that's a summery soup.