Eat Like a Fashion Insider with the Help of Bergdorf Goodman's New Cookbook
Get the scoop on the department store's new book, plus a tortilla soup recipe from designer Lela Rose.
Thanks in large part to portrayals in pop culture, there's a common assumption that people who work in fashion don't eat. While we'll be the first to dispel this myth, Bergdorf Goodman's first-ever cookbook proves not only do they eat, but they do so extremely well.
Launched this week, The Bergdorf Goodman Cookbook ($35, Harper Design) features more than 100 recipes from the legendary NYC department store's seventh-floor BG Restaurant, which has been a stomping ground for high-society ladies who lunch; employees at nearby Hearst, Chanel and Estée Lauder; and shoppers fueling up for their next spending marathon.
Alongside signature dishes such as the chopped Gotham Salad—which is reportedly ordered more than 2,500 times per month—you'll also find recipes from industry luminaries, such as Diane von Furstenberg's Crab Quinoa, Bobbi Brown's Brussels Sprouts Faux Pasta and Nina Garcia's Eggnog Pie.
To whet your appetite, we're sharing Lela Rose's contribution: a tortilla soup that's a riff on the one she enjoyed growing up in Dallas at the Mansion on Turtle Creek Hotel. Scroll down for the full recipe.
Designer Lela Rose's Tortilla Soup
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
3 tablespoons corn oil
5 corn tortillas, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh epazote or cilantro
1 cup diced yellow onion, puréed in a food processor
3 large tomatoes, puréed in a food processor
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 bay leaves
2 whole dried pasilla chiles, seeded, or 1 dried ancho chile, seeded
¼ cup canned tomato purée
2 quarts chicken stock
Salt
Cayenne
1 cooked chicken breast, cut into strips
1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and cubed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
7 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips and fried crisp
Red pepper flakes
Directions
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute the chopped tortillas with the garlic and epazote over medium heat until soft. Stir in the onion and fresh tomato puree and bring to a boil. Add the cumin, chili powder, bay leaves, chiles, canned tomato puree and stock. Return to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer. Season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes. Skim the fat from the surface, if necessary.
Strain and pour into warm soup bowls. Garnish with an equal portion of chicken strips, avocado, cheese and crisp tortilla strips, and finish with a tiny pinch of red pepper flakes. Serve immediately.
