Tex Mex Soup

Tex Mex Soup

This one is proper comfort food with a kick. We love making this Tex Mex Soup when the weather turns and we want something that warms you up from the inside but still feels exciting and fresh. It's got that smoky, spicy depth you'd get from a great chilli but in a slurpable, veggie-packed soup that comes together in 35 minutes. The peppers, tomatoes and chilli all do heavy lifting here, and the coriander stirred through at the end makes it taste really vibrant and alive. Honestly, once you've made it you'll want it on rotation all winter.

Cook: 35 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Large saucepan

Ingredients

  • 1 red onion
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 celery stick
  • 20g coriander
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 small chilli
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 4 tomatoes good quality
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp chipotle paste
  • 1 x 400g can of black beans
  • 1 x 400g can of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 x 200g can of sweetcorn
  • 200ml vegetable stock
  • 1 lime
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • heaped tbsp of guacamole - per person
  • coriander leaves - bunch

Method

1

Prepare your vegetables

  • Peel and dice the onion, carrots and celery to similar size chunks (around 1cm)
  • Pick the coriander leaves and rough chop
  • Finely dice the coriander stalks and rough chop ¾ of the leaves, leaving the rest for garnish
  • Peel and grate the garlic
  • Deseed and fine dice the chilli
  • Cut the pepper and tomatoes into 1.5cm chunks, deseeding the peppers
  • Prepare the stock
2

Cook your vegetables and assemble the soup

  • Warm the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat
  • Add the onions, carrot, celery and a pinch of salt to the pan and stir occasionally for 7-8 minutes, until softened
  • Add the coriander stalks, garlic and chilli to the pan and stir for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant
  • Add the ground coriander, cumin and smoked paprika, and stir for 1 minute
  • Add the peppers and tomatoes and stir for 4-5 minutes, until starting to soften
  • Add the beans (including the liquid in the can), the chopped tomatoes and chipotle paste to the pan, stir and simmer for 4-5 minutes
  • Add 3/4 of the stock to the pan, fold it into the soup and leave to simmer and thicken for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more stock if more liquid is needed
  • You want a chunkier, thicker consistency so may not need all the stock
3

While the soup simmers, prepare your other sides

  • Make your Guacamole if making from scratch
4

Final soup seasonings

  • Add the sweetcorn to the pan and stir into the soup
  • Squeeze the lime juice into the pan, add ¾ of the coriander leaves and stir in
  • Taste the soup and season to perfection with salt and pepper
5

To serve

  • Spoon the soup into bowls, top with a good dollop of guacamole, handful of reserved coriander leaves and sprinkled some crushed tortilla chips on top (if using)

Tips & Variations

  • Make it smoky: Add a teaspoon of smoked paprika when you fry off the garlic and chilli. It gives the whole soup a deeper, more Tex Mex BBQ flavour that we absolutely love.
  • Dial the heat up or down: If you're serving this to people who don't love spice, just use half a chilli or swap it for a pinch of mild chilli flakes. If you want it hotter, leave the seeds in.
  • Add some beans: We often throw in a tin of black beans or kidney beans about 10 minutes before the end. It bulks the soup out, adds protein and makes it feel even more satisfying.

Why This Works

The trick is getting a really good colour on your onions, carrots and celery before anything else goes in. That base is where all the flavour comes from, so don't rush it. The chilli and garlic going in early means they get toasted slightly in the oil, and that makes the whole soup taste much more complex than the ingredients list would have you believe.