Chicken Tortilla Soup

INGREDIENTS

POACHED CHICKEN (3-4 cups shredded):

• 1 small whole chicken (about 3 lbs)

• ½ cup salt (for brine)

• 1 large white onion - quartered

• 4 garlic cloves

• 1 medium carrot, roughly chopped

• 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped

• 3 bay leafs

• 8 whole peppercorns

• 6 thyme springs

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• ¼ cup white vinegar

CORN TORTILLAS (about 6 small):

• 1 cup masa harina

• ¾ cup hot water

FIRE ROASTED TOMATOES:

• 3 roma tomatoes

• 2 TBS olive oil

ROASTED GARLIC:

• 4 large garlic cloves

GRILLED SWEET CORN:

• 1 ear of corn

RE-HYDRATED CHILIES:

• 2 large pasilla chilies, stemmed and seeded (ancho also work great)

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP:

• 8 cups chicken broth (reserved liquid should be just enough)

• 1 small white onion, diced (about 1 ½ cups)

• 3-4 mild green peppers, sliced (such as garden salsa or fresno)

• 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed

• 5 corn tortillas, cut into 1 inch squares

• 3 fire roasted tomatoes (1 reserved for food processor, other 2 roughly chopped)

• Kernels from corn cob (about 1 cup)

• Juice of 2 limes

• ½ tsp cumin

• Shredded chicken (3-4 cups)

• 2 TBS olive oil

• Salt and pepper to taste

ADDITIONAL NEEDS:

• Avocado, cut into cubes (for topping)

• Jalapeños, thinly sliced (for topping)

• Sour cream (for topping)

• Cilantro, freshly chopped (for topping)

• Tortilla chips, crushed (for topping)

• Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded (for topping)

• Lime wedges (for serving)

GO FOR IT

POACHED CHICKEN:

1. Cut chicken into 8 parts (2 breasts, 2 wings, 2 legs, 2 thighs)

2. In a large container combine 8 cups water and ½ cup salt

3. In refrigerator, brine chicken for 4 to 6 hours in salt water solution

4. Once finished with brine, remove chicken, pat dry, and discard liquid.

5. In a large pot, bring 8 fresh cups of water to a boil

6. Add chicken and all remaining ingredients listed

7. Turn heat to low, then cover and simmer for 40 minutes

8. Leaving liquid in pot, remove chicken and let cool

9. When cool enough to handle, shred chicken, setting meat aside and putting all skin, fat, bones, and cartilage back into the poaching liquid

10. Continue to simmer liquid with chicken bones and vegetables covered for additional 90 to 120 minutes as you work on remaining prep work that follows (however - when you’re ready - be sure to strain this liquid through a fine mesh sieve or colander while discarding solids before using)

CORN TORTILLAS:

1. Mix masa harina and hot water in a small bowl (dough should be neither sticky or dry - think the consistency of wet play-dough and - if necessary add more hot water 1 TBS at a time until consistency is right)

2. Cover with damp towel and let rest for 1 hour

3. Divide dough into 6 small balls

4. Between plastic wrap or wax paper, use tortilla press or rolling pin to flatten dough into thin discs (about 5-6 inches in diameter and ⅛ inch in thickness)

5. Place discs on hot, ungreased cast iron, griddle, or comal. (depending on heat, tortillas will cook in 30-60 seconds per side)

6. Place and keep under damp paper or kitchen towel

FIRE ROASTED TOMATOES:

1. Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise

2. In a bowl, coat halved tomatoes in olive oil

3. Over high heat, cook tomatoes on cast iron for 5 to 10 minutes per side until well charred (you can also place in 450°F oven for 45 minutes for same effect)

ROASTED GARLIC:

1. As tomatoes cook on cast iron, you can place garlic cloves in their skin on cast iron as well and cook the each side chars and the clove is soft to the touch

2. When garlic cools, it should slide easily out of its skin and you can set aside for upcoming use

GRILLED SWEET CORN:

1. Once tomatoes and garlic are done, you can cook corn cob on the cast iron for 8 to 10 minutes while rotating sides until all sides are lightly charred

RE-HYDRATED CHILIES:

1. In a bowl, cover dried chilies with hot water and let sit for 30 minutes to soften, then discard water and set chilies aside

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP:

1. In a food processor, put roasted garlic cloves, 1 fire roasted tomato, re-hydrated chilies, and 1 cup of reserved chicken broth

2. Blend until smooth, then put through a fine mesh sieve

3. Reserve the liquid and discard the solids left in the sieve

4. In a dutch oven or large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat

5. Once heated, add onions and cook while stirring until soft and turning brown (about 5 minutes)

6. Add in sliced mild peppers and continue stirring additional 3 to 5 minutes

7. Add in chili liquid from the food processor and stir until it begins to thicken (about 5 minutes)

8. Add remaining reserved chicken broth and bring to a simmer

9. Once simmering, stir in corn, beans, chopped tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes

10. Add in corn tortilla square, shredded chicken, cumin, and lime juice and simmer additional 5 minutes

11. Taste and add in salt and pepper to taste

FINISHING STEPS:

1. Serve fresh or let flavors blend overnight in refrigerator

2. When served, top with fresh avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, cilantro, jalapeño slices, crushed tortilla chips and lime wedge for added citrus if needed

NOTES:

This may be the longest recipe I’ve written so let me do as promised and provide you with a few alternatives should you not wish to go through this entire process.

First off, you don’t need to make your own corn tortillas. I think the taste of fresh masa adds something noticeable and special but at the end of the day it’s going to be soaking up quite a bit of flavor from the liquid so store bought tortillas will work just fine.

You can also use a cup of frozen corn or chop tomatoes that aren’t fire roasted if you don’t want to go through those processes. Again, I think the sear adds some extra flavor but I also understand how much work I’m asking you to do here.

I cut up and brined an entire chicken. It’s nice because it’s usually cheaper than buying individual cuts, and you get a great blend of white and dark meat while making your own broth in the process. True broth takes quite a bit more time to make so this is kind of cheating but it’s still better than any store bought broth you can find I assure you (I did a taste comparison). If you go this route you can skip the brine if you want but it will help to keep things moist and tender. If you do this, then you may as well move forward with the homemade broth if you’ve come that far. However, I will admit that a cheap rotisserie chicken from the store will provide some mighty tasty shredded chicken for your soup at very little trouble to you. You can do that and use store bought broth and be fine or buy whatever pre-cut chicken you want and cook to your preference and use store bought broth.

Same goes for the chilies. I’ve started re-hydrating dried chilies quite a bit this past year and love the flavor they provide. However, you can also just use 1 or 2 TBS of your favorite chili powder for a similar taste. Likewise with the garlic. You don’t have to roast, you can mince some fresh garlic and add it in near the end of your time with the onions in the pot but roasted garlic adds some excellent roundness if you ask me.

Lastly, I advise you to be careful with how much you add to the soup. I say a few things like 1 small onion, 1 ear of corn, 3 roma tomatoes, juice of 2 limes, etc. However, maybe your tomatoes are bigger than the ones I had, maybe your corn is smaller. In these cases I did my best to provide measurements to provide an idea of what you should be left with. You don’t want to add so much that your soup is just a soggy casserole. You can always add more broth but I would also advise you don’t put everything in at once. Put things in, stir around, see what fits and enjoy making something of your own. I really hope you love this chicken tortilla soup as much as I did.