Chicken Tortilla Soup

Serves 8

Ingredients:

2 dried ancho chiles - roasted, seeded and chopped

1 dried guajillo chiles - roasted, seeded and chopped

1/8 cup olive oil

1 large yellow onion diced

3 ribs celery diced

5 garlic cloves minced

1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

5 cups chicken stock

1 cup tomato passata, try our blog tutorial for homemade Passata

1 lb chicken breasts, about 2 large pieces, or about 3 cups shredded chicken

1 cup fresh or frozen corn

1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tbsp chilli powder

3 sprigs fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried (preferably Mexican oregano, but regular -Mediterranean- oregano will work too)

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Juice from 1 lime

8 corn tortillas, sliced about 1/4-1/2 inch thick

Spray bottle containing olive oil or pressurized olive oil spray

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Heat empty Dutch oven over medium high heat (6 out of 10), water drops should spatter when dripped onto the surface

3. Add dried chiles and toast, stirring frequently, until fragrant - about 10 minutes. Watch carefuly as they soften and darken, so as not to burn them

4. Remove from heat, allow to cool a bit 

5. Cut tops off of chiles, use scissors to cut chiles open, remove seeds and pith. Cut chiles roughly with scissors into 1/2 inch pieces

6. Add chopped chiles back to the Dutch oven and barely cover with enough water to submerge them.  Simmer 15 minutes to rehydrate, watch to avoid boiling dry, then remove chiles with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Wipe out Dutch oven

7. Heat olive oil in Dutch oven over medium high heat (6 out of 10)

8. Add onion, celery, garlic and jalapeno. Saute 10 minutes to soften it

9. Add stock, tomato passata and rehydrated chiles - use an immersion blender to puree well

10. Add chicken breasts, herbs and spices to Dutch oven, cover and bring to a boil. 

11. Reduce heat and simmer on medium low (3 out of 10) about 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through

12. Meanwhile, stack tortillas and cut into strips with a sharp knife or pizza cutter (4 at a time works best)

13. Scatter the tortilla strips over a parchment lined tray and spray evenly with a light coating of olive oil, toss to mix it evenly, place in preheated oven

14. Bake about 15-20 mintues or until crispy and golden, remove from oven and set aside

15. Remove chicken breasts and oregan stems from Dutch oven.  Shred chicken with two forks or claws, set aside

16. Add beans and corn to soup and continue to simmer 20 more minutes, then return chicken to pot at this point and heat through

17. Remove from heat, stir in lime juice.  Adjust seasoning

18. Serve topped with crispy tortilla strips and other desired toppings

Notes:

This soup stores, without the tortilla strips, in the fridge in an airtight container up to 4 days and freezes well up to 6 months.  Add tortillas fresh with each batch.

If using avocados on top, dice them right before serving to prevent oxidation.

If using precooked chicken, add it at the end of step 9 to avoid drying it out.

To use fresh tomatoes in this recipe, either roast them or freeze them, then thaw and put them through a food mill to remove skins and seeds -which provides the best results- simmer until thick. See my blog post on making your own Tomato Passata

Oven crisping the tortilla strips drastically reduces the fat in this recipe, but deep fried strips will also work, or in a pinch - use crumbled tortilla chips.

If you don't have an olive oil sprayer, you can sparingly brush a little olive oil on each tortilla before cutting and baking.

Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 1.5 cups

Servings: 8

Calories 329

Total Fat 9.23g 11%  Saturated Fat 1.4g 7%  Cholesterol 36mg 12%  Sodium 870mg 38%  Total Carbohydrate 46.4g 17%  Dietary Fiber 12g 43%

Total Sugars 6.5g Protein 25.2g Calcium 151mg 12%  Iron 8mg 46%  Potassium 601mg 13%

The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.