I had tried several chicken tortilla soup and while they tasted pretty good, I thought something was kinda missing. Then I saw another tortilla soup recipe from Jamie’s America cookbook and I simply couldn’t pass on this one and went ahead and gave it a try. The verdict: SPECTACULAR! I guess I kinda like the rustic style of cooking. The first spoon of soup into my husband’s mouth and the guy couldn’t be more impressed. The freshness of jalapeno and the chunks of beautiful ripen avocado complement the soup so well. In the original recipe, the soup itself was meatless and made of fresh vegetables like onions, carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes and flavored by bay leaves. I did bake some chicken and add it to the soup. The meal was complete and everyone was super happy!!
RUSTIC CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or other parts you like
Soup:
- Olive oil
- 1 onion peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 2 large carrots peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 green bell peppers seeded and roughly chopped
- 2 yellow bell peppers seeded and roughly chopped
- 2 large tomatoes roughly chopped
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- 14- oz can diced tomatoes
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Garnishes:
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1 lime
- 1 fresh jalapeno pepper thinly sliced
- 2 large handful of tortilla chips
- 1 heaped tsp dried sage
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 F. Sprinkle the chicken with some salt and pepper and drizzle some olive oil over them. Place your chicken pieces on the baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and then cover with another layer of aluminum foil (to prevent drying since we are working with skinless meat). Place in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through (Internal temperature should be 165 F). When they are cool enough to handle, cut into 1-inch strips and set aside
- Get a large saucepan on a low-to-medium heat and pour in a good lug of olive oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and bell peppers and fry gently for 10-15 minutes until softened, stirring every so often so they don't catch on the bottom of the pan
- Add the chopped fresh tomatoes and bay leaves, crumble in the bouillon cubes, and add the canned tomatoes. Pour in about 2 tomato cans' worth of water, then bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Preheat your oven to 350 F. While the soup blips away, peel and pit your avocado and dice into 1/2-inch cubes. Put these on a plate, grate over your lime zest, and squeeze in the juice to keep the avocado from browning. Put in the center of the table next to a plate with your slices of jalapeno
- Lay the tortilla chips on a sheet pan, drizzle with a good lug of olive oil, and sprinkle over the dried sage. Heat in the oven for a few minutes until warmed through. Meanwhile, check on your soup. If you like it looser, you can add a bit of water to it at this point; if you like it thicker, you can let it cook for a bit longer. I quite like to mash the soup up a little to get a bit of pulpiness going, but if you like it chunky (I do), leave it as is. Have a taste, season with salt and pepper, then give it a stir and taste again
- Once you are happy with the flavors, divide the soup between bowls and divide the chicken pieces equally and take them to the table, with the warm tortilla chips
