Mexican Tortilla Soup with Frizzled Tortillas

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 pounds onions peeled, cut in half vertically, and sliced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 Ancho chilies dried
• 6 garlic cloves peeled and minced or pressed
• 1/2 cup brandy optional
• 1/2 cup dry red wine optional
• 6 corn tortillas 6½-inch diameter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 jalapeno chilies stemmed, seeded, ribbed, and minced
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin tastes even better if you lightly toast the seeds in a dry saute pan and then grind them yourself
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 cups vegetable stock or chicken, plus more as needed
• 3 pounds fresh tomatoes peeled and chopped, or three 14.5-ounce cans chopped tomatoes
• fine sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 3 corn tortillas 6½-inch diameter, cut into narrow strips
• 1 cup cotija cheese grated or crumbled, optional
• 1/2 cup green onion chopped, optional
• 1 tomato medium, seeded and chopped, optional
• 1 avocado peeled, seeded, chopped or sliced, and quickly tossed with fresh lime juice, optional
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped, optional
• 1 cup sour cream whisked to smooth, optional
• 8 lime wedges 6-

Nutrition

• Calories : 750 calories
• Carbohydrate : 72 grams
• Cholesterol : 55 milligrams
• Fat : 43 grams
• Fiber : 18 grams
• Protein : 16 grams
• SaturatedFat : 14 grams
• Sodium : 1220 milligrams
• Sugar : 22 grams