Vegetarian Pumpkin Tortilla Soup

• 12 (6 inch) corn tortillas
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup finely chopped cilantro, plus more sprigs for garnish
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• chile or dried chile pequins or other dried hot peppers or cayenne pepper, to taste*
• 1 12 cups pumpkin puree or 1 12 cups canned pumpkin
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 5 cups unsalted vegetable stock
• 12 teaspoon salt
• vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 1 -2 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and cubed

1. Cut 6 of the tortillas into 1/2-inch squares.
2. Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.
3. Add onion, garlic, cilantro, and chopped tortillas and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is soft.
4. Add cumin and crushed peppers or cayenne and saute for another minute.
5. Add pumpkin, tomatoes, vegetable stock, and salt and stir to combine.
6. Bring to a boil.
7. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for one hour.
8. While the soup is simmering, cut the remaining 6 tortillas in half and then into 1/4-inch-wide strips.
9. Heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking.
10. Fry tortilla strips in two batches until crisp and light golden (about a minute).
11. Using a slotted spoon, transfer tortilla strips to towels to drain.
12. To serve, ladle soup into bowls and garnish with tortilla strips, avocado, and cilantro.
13. *As a personal preference, I like to put the cilantro, tortilla strips, avocado, (ALONG WITH sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese - my own additions) into smaller serving bowls for people to add themselves.
14. Yum.
15. *You can tailor the type and amount of hot pepper to your own tastes.
16. We usually make this with a couple of crushed chile pequins but have also used cayenne pepper, which is more readily available.
17. If you're not sure how much to use, start with 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne, taste the soup after it has simmered for awhile, and then add more if desired.

corn tortillas, olive oil, white onion, garlic, cilantro, ground cumin, chile pequins, pumpkin puree, tomatoes, salt, vegetable oil, avocado

Taken from www.food.com/recipe/vegetarian-pumpkin-tortilla-soup-442987 (may not work)