Tortilla Soup

 

This is a few weeks after I made this recipe. We had some unseasonably chilly weather here in Georgia and what does one eat when it is chilly? Soup!

Also - I had a dentist appointment on the day I made this - 4 fillings needed to be removed and replaced (no issues...just old fillings.) I thought soup might be the best option given the potential for chewing difficulty. I found this recipe in one of my fave resources - America's Test Kitchen! This time in their "Best Light Recipe" cookbook. 

Tortilla Soup

• 2 split bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds), skin removed (in my case...I left the skin on. I know this makes it not-so-light but it adds flavor!)
• 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 very large white onion peeled and quartered
• 6 medium cloves garlic , peeled
• 8-10 sprigs fresh cilantro
• 1 sprig fresh oregano
• 2 medium tomatoes , cored and quartered (or, in a pinch a 28oz can of diced tomatoes)
• 1/2 medium jalapeño chile
• 1 chipotle chile en adobo, plus up to 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

 

The flavor base: pureed tomato, 2 cloves of the garlic, 1/2 of the onion, jalapeño, chipotle and more! 

 

Broth base: boil chicken breasts with broth, 1/2 of the onion, cilantro, oregano, and four cloves of garlic. Boil, covered for about 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken and strain broth. Let chicken cool (then remove the meat and shred it into bite sized pieces - whatever size pieces of chicken you wouldn't mind encountering in your soup. Hint: you shouldn't need a fork and knife to eat your soup!)

Set broth aside and put puree in dutch oven with the oil (I always use EVOO but vegetable oil is fine). Cook puree with about 1/8 of a teaspoon of salt over medium heat, stirring until it gets darker in color and some of the liquid cooks off. About 10 minutes.

Add the broth and simmer for another 15 minutes. Add chicken and heat for about 5 minutes. Then prep garnish with cheese, cilantro, lime, tortilla chips, avocado*, sliced jalapeños and eat!

"Watcha cookin? Can I have some of that chicken? It sure smells good! Are we going for a walk soon? Is that cheese? Watcha cookin?"

* How to cube avocado. Slice avocado in half by cutting around the pit with a sharp knife. Twist the halves and separate. CAREFULLY spike the pit with the base of the knife blade to remove it.

Take a paring knife and slice each half lengthwise and then crosswise - creating a grid pattern (see photo)

Diced avocado in the skin...

Scoop it out with a spoon. Voila!

Diced avocado ready for garnish!

 

The finished product: a refreshing and spicy soup, packed with flavor. I made some simple quesadillas with flour tortillas and cheese in a fry pan with some EVOO. I also had pre-baked some corn tortillas for this but I think store-bought tortilla chips work just fine. You can line the bowl with the chips and pour the soup over them or, if you prefer, just eat them with the soup. I like my chips crunchy so I eat them with the soup.

The dentist visit? I'll spare you the details but due to my, apparently excellent, bone density I require copious amounts of novacaine. My last visit nearly made my dentist* hang up his practice! That visit required 9 shots. This one? He gave me the novacaine shot they use for patients with broken jaws. It worked. It never even bothered me to have 4 hands, several medieval instruments and, at one point, something that looked like a hair dryer, shoved in the old pie hole. I was a bit tender afterwards, however. Suffice it to say: soup was a good option for dinner that night.

*Shameless plug: my dentist is a dear friend from Boston! Dr. Francis Schaeffer. If you live in the Atlanta area and can drive to Decatur for a dental visit: He's the one!)