Pressure cooker makes quick work of mole chicken chili

I've used a pressure cooker for years with no problem. Sure, the rattling weight on top was noisy and a bit unnerving, but the quick cooking time and tender, flavorful results were worth the clatter.

When America's Test Kitchen turned its attention to pressure cookers, I couldn't wait to try a recipe from its new cookbook, Pressure Cooker Perfection: 100 Foolproof Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook.

I followed the initial instructions, simmering and pureeing the sauce in the uncovered pot, then adding skinless, bone-in chicken thighs. I put in the rubber gasket and sealed the cooker the way I've done hundreds of times and set it over medium-high heat. But instead of hearing the familiar rattle as steam escaped, I heard the liquid boiling -- hard. That had never happened before. Then steam started to stream out the side, where the lid met the pot. I pulled it off the heat before it could flip its lid, literally.

Because I was afraid to use my pressure cooker, I transferred the ingredients to an ovenproof casserole and baked it at 350 degrees until the chicken was tender, about 40 minutes. It took longer than the pressure cooker, but the results were still delicious. The combination of sweet, savory and spicy flavors make this recipe a keeper. I served the thick chili over hot brown rice, not a traditional preparation but a delicious one. You also could put it into tortillas or ladle it into a bowl, as in the photo.

And while the chicken was cooking, I consulted the book again -- not for another recipe, but to study the chart rating many pressure cookers now on the market. (And by the way, the rattling weights on the top are no more. Current technology has incorporated the pressure regulator into the lid.) With those recommendations in mind, I got online and ordered a new pressure cooker. My new cooker just arrived, and I'll be dipping back into Pressure Cooker Perfection for many more recipes and ideas.

MOLE CHICKEN CHILI

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

2 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 cup raisins

¼ cup peanut butter

4 pounds bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed, trimmed

Salt 

Ground black pepper

1 onion, halved and sliced 1/2 inch thick

1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

¼ cup minced fresh cilantro

To build flavor, heat 2 tablespoons oil in ­pressure-­cooker pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add chili powder, cocoa, garlic, chipotle, cinnamon and cloves and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth, tomatoes, raisins and peanut butter, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Working in batches, puree sauce in blender until smooth, about 30 seconds. (Hold a folded kitchen towel over the lid of the blender to prevent hot sauce from splattering.)

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in ­now-­empty pot. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in sauce, then add chicken to pot.

Lock ­pressure-­cooker lid in place and bring to high pressure over ­medium-­high heat. As soon as pot reaches high pressure, reduce heat to ­medium-­low and cook for 25 minutes, adjusting heat as needed to maintain high pressure. Remove pot from heat. ­Quick-release pressure, then carefully remove lid, allowing steam to escape away from you.

Transfer chicken to cutting board. Let cool slightly, then shred meat into ­bite-­size pieces, discarding skin and bones. Meanwhile, bring chili to simmer, stir in bell pepper, and cook until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in shredded chicken and cilantro, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Variation: Chicken breasts shred into thinner strands and soak up more sauce, making  a fantastic filling for tacos or burritos. If you substitute an equal amount of bone-in breasts for the thighs, reduce the pressurized cooking time to 15 minutes. 

To use a 6-quart electric pressure cooker (instead of a stovetop cooker): Quick-release the pressure immediately after the pressurized cooking time; do not let the cooker switch to the warm setting. Use the browning (not the simmer) setting to simmer the chili.

Adapted from "Pressure Cooker Perfection." Photo and recipe used with permission of America's Test Kitchen.

Smoky sweet potato hash for supper, breakfast or brunch

I know it's not a good idea to go grocery shopping when you're  hungry, but I probably shouldn't shop when I'm full, either. That was the case on Saturday, when I hit the supermarket on the way home from a culinary event.

I picked up the basics -- milk, eggs, bread, fruit, veggies -- but I was having trouble deciding which meats looked appealing. Then I spied a package of smoked pork chops. These weren't the mass-market brand, which tend to release a ton of water when you put them into the pan. Instead, they were from a Missouri smokehouse, Burgers'. If you make this recipe -- or anything with smoked pork -- seeking out artisan-quality meat will be worth the effort and any additional price.

The chops went into my cart, and later, into this hash. It's a hearty meal with a satisfying combination of  flavors and textures. To reduce cooking time considerably, start the potatoes in the microwave, then saute them with the onions just until they brown. The pork was so tasty that I didn't want to overcomplicate the dish with herbs or other seasonings, so I stopped at salt and black pepper. And cooked in a covered pan on a blanket of hash, the eggs develop a soft, almost custardy consistency.

SMOKY SWEET POTATO HASH 
Yield: 2 servings (see note)

2 medium sweet potatoes
1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 smoked pork chop (about 8 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 4 eggs

Wash sweet potatoes and pierce the top of each two or three times with the tip of a paring knife. Microwave on high until tender but not mushy, about 6 minutes, depending on their size. Cut in half lengthwise and set aside until they are cool enough to handle. Peel, discarding skin; cut sweet potatoes into 3/4-inch cubes.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a 10-inch well-seasoned cast-iron skillet or a nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring frequently, until it softens. Add cubed sweet potatoes; cooking, stirring gently, until they begin to brown. If sweet potatoes stick to the skillet, add up to 1 tablespoon additional butter.

Meanwhile, cut pork into bite-size pieces, discarding excess fat and the bone. Add pork, pepper and salt to the skillet; stir well.

Make two or four shallow indentations in the hash. One at a time, break eggs into a small cup and slide into the indentations. Reduce the heat to low. Cover the skillet and cook until eggs are done, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Note: This recipe can be doubled and cooked in a 12-inch skillet. You'll need to microwave the potatoes for about 12 minutes.

Copyright 2013 by Judith Evans. All rights reserved.

Quick sausage-shrimp skillet celebrates the flavors of New Orleans

I won't pretend that this quick dish is authentic New Orleans fare -- far from it -- but I was inspired by this month's Mardi Gras celebrations.

As a bonus, this skillet supper is far lower in fat than tradional Cajun food. Spoon this slightly spicy mixture of lean protein and vegetables over brown rice and enjoy any time of year, not just on Fat Tuesday.

The key ingredient is andouille sausage, which is packed with spicy flavor. I used a chicken version from Whole Food's butcher case. You could substitute pork sausage, which is far easier to find, but you'll need to drain the fat after browning the sausage and vegetables. You also can buy links of smoked chicken or turkey andouille, which need only to be warmed. I like to cut them into 1/2-inch rounds and  brown them along with the vegetables.

And speaking of vegetables ... here in the Midwest in midwinter, good fresh okra is impossible to find. I substituted frozen. I've found that the quality of frozen vegetables varies greatly among brands, and sad to say, the less expensive brands are usually watery and lacking in flavor. I've also found that organic frozen vegetables are usually the best bets.


SHRIMP AND ANDOUILLE SKILLET SUPPER
Yield: 4 servings

1/2 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
2/3 pound fresh andouille sausage, preferably made from chicken (see note)
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 rib celery, coarsely chopped
1/2 large red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup fresh or frozen sliced okra
1 cup fresh or frozen trimmed green beans
1/2 pound shrimp, thawed if frozen, shelled and deveined
Hot cooked rice
Hot sauce

Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble andouille into the skillet; cook, crumbling it further with a spoon. When the sausage starts to brown, add onion, celery and red pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables soften and begin to brown.

Stir in stock, drained tomatoes, okra and green beans. Reduce heat until liquid simmers briskly; cover and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in shrimp; cover and cook until shrimp is pink and okra and beans are tender, about 5 minutes.

Serve over hot cooked rice, passing hot sauce at the table.

Note: If you can't find fresh chicken andouille, use pork andouille and drain well. Alternately, use smoked andouille links cut into wedges or rounds.

Potato soup will put a smile on your mug

The idea for this soup originated at my dentist's office -- not because I had a toothache (I was there for a checkup), but because the receptionist had a ton of leftover mashed potatoes and wanted an idea for using them.

I suggested that she thin the mashed potatoes with chicken broth or milk to make a soup, then top each serving with bacon, chives, cheddar cheese and sour cream.

It sounded good, but I didn't have any leftover mashed potatoes. I did, however, have baking potatoes in the pantry. I cooked them in the microwave and soon enough, I had soup.

If you have leftover ham, you can use it instead of the bacon in this recipe. Sauté the onion in a little butter or olive oil, and stir in the chopped ham just before you take the soup off the heat. Smoked sausage, such as kielbasa, also would be delicious. Cut it into small pieces and sauté until browned, then stir into the hot soup. Or leave out the meat and stir in blanched broccoli and shredded cheese to make broccoli-cheese-potato soup.

BAKED POTATO SOUP
Yield: 6 servings

2 large baking potatoes
2 thick or 3 thin slices bacon, diced
1 medium onion, minced
1 quart chicken stock 
1/2 cup milk
Salt
Ground black pepper
Chopped parsley, for optional garnish
Snipped chives, for optional garnish
Finely sliced green onions, for optional garnish
Shredded cheddar cheese, for optional garnish
Sour cream, for optional garnish

Bake potatoes in the oven or microwave. When cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise. Remove and discard potato skins. Cut potatoes into 2-inch chunks.

Cook bacon over medium-high heat in a large nonstick saucepan or medium stockpot until crispy. Remove from heat. Remove bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels, then set aside. Remove all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat from the pan.

Return the pan to medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until it is tender and starts to brown. Stir in stock; bring to a simmer. Stir in cooked potatoes. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Using an immersion blender or working in batches with a counter top blender, pureé the soup. Place over medium-high heat and return to a simmer. Stir in milk and salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, ladle into bowls or mugs. Top each serving with bacon and your choice of garnishes: ground black pepper, parsley, chives, green onions, cheese, sour cream.

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Quick supper starts with flavor-packed andouille sausage

If you're looking for ideas for a quick supper, start with your freezer. That's where I found the main ingredients in this recipe. I chopped, stirred, simmered and sautéed -- and within 20 minutes, our meal was on the table.

I've found that smoked andouille sausage contains all the seasonings this dish needs. If you like things hot, however, add a shake of pepper flakes or a dash of cayenne. I like the chicken andouille sold at Trader Joe's, but you can find tasty varieties elsewhere. I had used two of the four links in the package for another meal, then wrapped and froze the leftovers. A quick zap in the microwave and the sausage was thawed enough to slice and toss into the skillet.

I also had a bag of frozen okra, which I had bought on a whim. I've found that brand makes a big difference with frozen vegetables. Some are watery, with an unpleasant texture and little flavor. I used Whole Food's house brand, 365. The okra was as good as a frozen vegetable could be -- not quite the same as fresh, but tasty and with nice texture.

I also had frozen brown rice on hand. This is a great time saver. It zaps in 3 minutes, as opposed to cooking regular brown rice for 45 minutes. I always have a package or two in the freezer.

Finally, I poured in 1/4 cup of beer, left in the can after I used 10 ounces in a recipe for brisket that I was making for a future meal. Leave the beer out if you wish, or pop a can or bottle open, splash some into the skillet, and drink the rest.

ANDOUILLE SKILLET SUPPER
Yield: 2 servings (can be doubled)

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 rib celery, chopped
2 links smoked chicken andouille sausage (about 6 ounces total)
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup beer, optional
1 cup frozen sliced okra
Hot cooked rice

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery; cook until they begin to soften. As they cook, slice each sausage lengthwise into quarters, then cut the quarters into 1/2-inch chucks. Add to the skillet and cook, stirring, until browned on all sides.

Add tomatoes and their juice, beer (if using) and okra. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until okra is cooked through and the juices have thickened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Ladle over hot cooked rice and serve immediately.

Tortellini soup from pantry, fridge, freezer

Balsamic vinegar used to be a staple in my kitchen, but in recent years it's fallen out of favor. I think that's because it's become so pervasive as an ingredient that the flavor somehow seemed less special.

When I was making this soup, I had to dig deep in my pantry to unearth the balsamic. It was on the top shelf, behind a few bottles of wine, a big bottle of vanilla and not one but two bottles of sherry vinegar.

My search was worth the effort. Just 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar deepens and melds the flavors in this simple but satisfying soup.

And while I was in the pantry, I grabbed the olive oil, an onion, fresh garlic, a box of chicken stock, a can of tomatoes, a can of garbanzo beans and dried basil and oregano. (In summer, I would have stepped outside and picked them from my herb garden.) The tortellini was in the fridge, and the spinach and leftover pesto was in the freezer.

You can use any type of tortellini or another small stuffed pasta. If you don't have garbanzo beans, substitute cannellini beans or omit them entirely. Shredded cooked chicken would make a good substitution, too.

TORTELLINI SOUP
Yield: 6 servings

1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 quart chicken stock
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2/3 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen loose-leaf spinach
1 (10-ounce) package refrigerated tortellini (pesto, mushroom or another variety)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 to 2 tablespoons basil pesto, optional (see note)

Heat oil in a medium nonstick soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring, until tender. Stir in garlic; cook briefly, then add chicken stock, tomatoes and their juice, basil and oregano. Bring to a simmer.

Remove from heat; purée to desired consistency with an immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender. Return to heat; add garbanzo beans, then bring to a simmer. Cook until flavors blend and the soup thickens slightly, about 30 minutes.

Increase heat to high; bring soup to a boil. Stir in spinach, tortellini and vinegar; cook until spinach is hot and tortellini is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Stir in pesto, if using, and serve.

Note: I freeze extra pesto in small mounds on a parchment-covered cookie sheet, then transfer the frozen pesto to freezer bags. Frozen pesto doesn't need to be thawed before adding to soups, stews, pasta sauces or other dishes.

Cookbook review, recipe: A taste of India

Indian food is so fragrant and the flavors so complex that making it at home always seemed daunting.

Until now, that is.

Rinku Bhattacharya demystifies and sometimes slightly Westernizes the foods of her homeland in a new cookbook, The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles: Exploring the Cuisine of Eastern India (Hippocrene Books, $18.95 trade paperback).

She takes care to describe the seasonings and other ingredients that make Bengali food taste so special. In fact, the book's name is an homage to panch phoron, a blend of five spices that is the backbone of Bengali cooking.

She explains how to make panch phoron and mentions that the spice blend is sold in most Indian stores. I bought a small package for less than $2 in an Indian grocery just five miles from my home in a St. Louis suburb.

Bhattacharya is a native of Kolkata (previously spelled Calcutta) who spent part of her childhood in Africa. She has lived in the United States for 25 years.

She says in the book that the following recipe put her on the road to writing a cookbook. As she made this dish for her uncle and his English-born wife, her aunt took notes, and Bhattacharya realized that others might be interesting in learning about Indian regional cooking.



QUICK SPICED POTATOES AND CAULIFLOWER WITH BABY SHRIMP
Yield: 4 servings

1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil (such as canola)
1 teaspoon panch phoron (see note)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger paste (see note)
3 green chiles, slit lengthwise
1 cup chopped fresh cauliflower
1 large potato, peeled and cut into small wedges
2 red tomatoes, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shelled and deveined medium shrimp (see note)
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Heat the oil in a wok or skillet over medium-high heat and add panch phoron. When the spices begin crackling, add the ginger paste and green chiles. Stir in the cauliflower and potato. Mix in the tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Cover and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

Remove the lid. Stir in the shrimp and sour cream and bring to a simmer. Cook until done, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and serve.

Notes:

Panch Phoron (often written as panch puran), is a spice blend essential to Bengali cooking. Look for it in Indian stores or make it by stirring together equal amounts of whole fennel seeds, cumin seeds, nigella seeds, black mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. In India, cooks use radhuni, a type of celery seed, instead of the fenugreek.
To make ginger paste, look for fresh, young ginger without any fibers. Process the ginger in a blender or wet-dry grinder. (When testing this recipe, I used a bamboo ginger grater that I bought years ago in Chinatown in San Francisco. A rasp-type micrograter is also a good tool for grating small amounts of ginger.)
Although the recipe calls for medium shrimp, the title mentions "baby" shrimp. I used medium shrimp and Westernized the recipe further by increasing the amount to 1 cup.

Adapted from "The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles"

Apple crumble: easy, adaptable, delicious

My favorite parts of Dutch apple pie are the spiced filling and the sweet streusel topping. Why, then, bother with the bottom crust? This recipe ditches the pastry, saving prep time and calories.

Like most fruit desserts, you can vary this crumble according to the season and what you have in your kitchen -- or in your garden, if you're lucky enough to have a fruit tree or berry bushes.

You can use a combination of fruits, too. For example, add a handful of fresh cranberries to the apples, or replace a few of the apples with pears.

For a nutty topping, add chopped pecans or walnuts to the flour mixture. To make an oat topping, use half a cup of flour along with half a cup of rolled oats.

So many types of apples are in supermarkets that I sometimes have trouble remembering which are good baking apples, which are good eating apples and which are good for both. Fortunately, the New York Apple Association offers a free iPhone and iPad app called Them Apples. There's a web-based chart, too, at www.nyapplecountry.com.

APPLE CRUMBLE
Yield: 8 servings

8 to 10 apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup white whole-wheat or all-purpose flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 dash salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
Vanilla ice cream or heavy cream, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 11-cup baking dish or coat with nonstick spray. Place apples and lemon juice in baking dish; toss to combine. Stir together granulated sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle evenly over apples, then stir to combine.

Stir together flour, brown sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Cut butter into chunks and add to the bowl. Using a large fork, a pastry blender or your fingers, cut butter into flour mixture until medium crumbs form. Sprinkle evenly over the apples.

Bake on the middle oven rack until the mixture is bubbly and the apples are tender, about 40 minutes. If the top begins to brown before the apples are tender, cover loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil.

Let cool slightly, then spoon into bowls and serve plain or with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of heavy cream.

Chocolate meets pumpkin in muffins

I've been stirring up these muffins and breads for several years, tweaking the recipe over time to make it tastier and healthier.

Subbing white whole-wheat flour for all-purpose was an easy start. This product, relatively new to the market, is made from flour that is naturally light in color. It looks a lot like white flour, and it bakes a lot like white flour, but it's a whole grain. I use it when making quick breads and hearty cookies but not in tender cakes.

Heart-healthy canola oil replaces the butter you'll find in many recipes. A light colored, light-tasting olive oil would work too. Each muffin contains only 2 teaspoons of oil. If you'd like to cut that amount in half, substitute 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce for 1/4 cup of the oil. The muffins or bread will be a little less tender but still delicious.

I like to bake with organic granulated sugar, sometimes called evaporated cane juice. A whisper of molasses is left, turning the sugar a light tan color and adding a nice, light flavor. You can substitute regular granulated sugar if you wish.

I love the way this tastes when I stir dark chocolate chips into the batter. That's what inspired my latest alteration. I replaced 2 tablespoons of the flour with unsweetened cocoa powder. That tiny amount darkens the batter and intensifies the spices. You can't taste the cocoa, but you can taste the difference.

CHOCOLATE-KISSED PUMPKIN MUFFINS OR BREAD
Yield: 12 regular muffins or 48 mini muffins or a 9-by-5-inch loaf or 3 mini loaves

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 7/8 cups white whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
1 cup granulated sugar (preferably organic)
1/2 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips or chunks
1 cup raisins or chopped walnuts or a combination

Place an oven rack so it sits just below the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin cups or loaf pan(s) with nonstick cooking spray.

Place cocoa powder in a 1-cup dry measuring cup. Stir or whisk flour in the canister, then spoon into the measuring cup, mounding the flour. Using the straight edge of a knife, sweep off the excess. Pour into a large mixing bowl. Measure and add the other 1 cup flour. Add baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. Whisk until well combined.

In another large bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Whisk until well blended. Add to the dry ingredients. Use a rubber or silicone spatula to mix gently but well, scraping the bottom of the bowl. (The less you stir, the more tender the outcome.) Use the spatula to quickly fold in the chocolate chips and raisins and/or walnuts.

To portion batter evenly for muffins, use an ice-cream scoop coated with cooking spray. A cookie scoop works well for mini muffins. To make a loaf or loaves, scrape batter into pan(s).

Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with just a few clinging crumbs, about 25 minutes for regular muffins, 15 to 20 minutes for mini muffins, 50 minutes for a regular loaf or 35 minutes for mini loaves. Let cool slightly, then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Tortilla soup brightens a gray day

The weather here in St. Louis has caught up to the calendar. The day is gray, wet and chilly -- and I know I'm not the only one thinking longingly of soup.
Both the temperature and the spiciness in tortilla soup will warm you up. Once you add the crunch of tortilla chips, the creaminess of avocado and the satisfying shreds of chicken, this bowl of soup contains just about everything you could want in a winter meal.
This recipe isn't strictly authentic, but I think you'll like it anyway. I've made it for years and have never seen a bowl that wasn't scraped clean. Most tortilla soups are thickened with pieces of corn tortillas that dissolve as the soup simmers. I stray from conventional recipes by using grits. It's a technique born of necessity, when I was out of tortillas but craving tortilla soup. Trial and error taught me to grind the grits in a clean coffee grinder; otherwise, the tiny grains don't dissolve. You can substitute corn flour (which won't need to be ground) or cornmeal. Just stay away from self-rising cornmeal, which has salt and leavening that don't belong in a pot of soup.
This recipe also is a great way to use leftover baked or roasted chicken. Supermarket rotisserie chickens practically were made for tortilla soup, especially if you buy one of the giant club-store varieties that are too, too big for most families to eat in one meal.
Canned chipotles used to be sold whole in adobo sauce and needed to be pureed by the cook. Now, however, you can buy small cans of pureed chipotles (which are smoked jalapeno chiles, by the way). You'll have most of the can leftover. Pour the excess into a quart-size zip-top freezer bag, spread into a thin layer, and freeze flat. Next time you need some puree, take it out of the freezer and break off the amount you need.

TORTILLA SOUP
Yield: About 6 servings

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon dry corn grits or cornmeal, ground to a powder, or 2 teaspoons corn flour 
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons Southwestern-style salt-free seasoning blend or to taste
1 teaspoon chipotle puree or to taste
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, plus cilantro sprigs for garnish
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken 
About 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese or Mexican-style cheese blend
Tortilla chips, for garnish
1/2 avocado, cut into chunks
1 lime, cut into wedges

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until onion begins to brown. Add both cans of tomatoes and broth. Bring to a simmer, then stir in ground grits. Stir in Southwestern seasoning and chipotle puree. Let simmer about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in corn; when corn is cooked, remove soup from heat. Stir in chopped cilantro.

Place 1/4 cup chicken in each soup bowl. Ladle soup over chicken. Top each serving with a heaping tablespoon of cheese, tortilla chips to taste, a few avocado chunks, a lime wedge and a sprig of cilantro. Before eating, squeeze lime into the soup.