Chicken Tortilla Soup
Before I moved to
Texas 38 years ago, my only experience with TexMex cuisine was Taco Bell. Now a
spice set of chili powder, cumin and cayenne are like salt and pepper to
me. I never measure; it is all about
color and taste. Similarly, before I
married my wife my only experience with soup was Campbell’s tomato soup. Now, I regularly watch her assemble a variety
of soups from Minestrone to Lentil and Sausage to Tortilla soups. I’ve always
been happy to yield to her expertise and just enjoy the results. But one week
night she was traveling and I had a craving.
I had thawed chicken breasts and just couldn’t bring myself to have just
chicken. I needed, not just wanted,
needed Mexican food. I went to our
Southwest Cuisine cookbook and looked up the Tortilla soup recipe but it didn’t
call for chicken. I looked on the internet
for a chicken tortilla soup but it didn’t have the depth of flavors of the
other recipe. I began the fusion of the
two recipes and hit on a combination that has great texture and satisfies that
need.
This soup is quick to make, flavorful and filling. And if
you have any leftovers it freezes well, in fact, it gets better if you let all
these ingredients “sleep together”.
Ingredients:
3 cloves
garlic, minced
1 tablespoon
olive oil
2 teaspoons
chili powder
1 teaspoon
dried oregano
1 (28 oz)
can crushed tomatoes
1 (32 oz)
chicken broth
1 cup fresh
corn kernels cooked
1 teaspoon
ground cumin
1 (4 oz) can
chopped green chili peppers
(optional) 2
diced fresh Jalapeños
1 (15 oz)
can black beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup
chopped fresh cilantro
1 pound of cooked
(boiled) chicken tenders and cut into bite-sized pieces
Tortilla
chips (or fresh fried tortilla strips, 8 tortillas)
Sliced avocado
Shredded
Monterrey Jack cheese
Directions:
Fill a medium stockpot half full with water. Bring the water to a full boil and add the
chicken tenders and the fresh corn.
Bring back to boil and cook for 10 minutes. Remove chicken and corn, set aside and let
cool. When cool cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and cut the kernels off
the corncobs.
In the medium stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium
heat. Sauté onion and garlic in the oil
until soft.
Stir in chili powder, oregano, cumin, tomatoes and
broth. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 5
to 10 minutes.
Stir in corn, chilies, beans, cilantro and chicken. Simmer
for 10 minutes.
You can serve this soup at this point but if you have the
time, put a lid on the pot and let the soup cool completely. Reheat and serve.
For fried tortilla strips, cut fresh corn tortillas in half
and then into ¼ inch wide strips. Heat two
inches of vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. When oil is hot,
drop a hand full of strips into the oil and cook until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper
towels. Repeat until all are fried.
Ladle soup into individual serving bowls, top with tortilla
chips, avocado slices and cheese.
Freeze the leftovers for another day.
