Chicken tortilla soup recipe
The first time I tried tortilla soup was when I lived near Cleveland, Ohio, and was first starting as a server at a local Max & Erma’s (which if you don’t know, is somewhere between a Chili’s and a Ruby Tuesday, but with a sundae bar* in a vintage bathtub instead of a salad bar). It was thick, cheesy, pleasantly spicy, and to the seemingly endless delight of customers, topped with fried tortilla strips. Tortilla soup was especially popular on cold or rainy days, so we would run out of cups and soup crocks during almost every lunch rush. Max & Erma’s cheesy tortilla soup was an undeniable hit.
Only it wasn’t tortilla soup. Not really. Years later, when I moved back to Texas, I ordered tortilla soup at Pappasito’s Cantina expecting the same addictive cheesy soup I had been serving to my fellow Ohioans for years. Instead, I was presented with what I guessed to be some sort of mystery Mexican pho — a large steaming bowl of broth, brimming with large chunks of chicken and what I could only assume was every available vegetable and herb from the kitchen.
My knee-jerk reaction was immediate — this was the menacing-looking broth the Stygian witches were cooking in that scene from the **Clash of the Titans where Perseus refused to give them back their “eye” until they told him how to defeat the Kraken. Suffice it to say, the soup was not… immediately appealing. Luckily, summers alone with my grandparents had taught me long ago to eat what I was served and I’m really glad I did.
Rich chicken broth, spice and smoky peppers, creamy avocado, lime, and the unmistakable taste of cilantro come together for a deep, layered soup with a host of flavors and textures that still manage to blend together beautifully for a really fantastic and satisfying soup. It wasn’t what I was used to, of course, as it didn’t have a block of cheddar cheese melted in it, but it made me realize I needed to find out what other amazing food I had been missing out on. So what was in those Max & Erma crocks? I learned some time that even though there is no universally accepted recipe fort tortilla soup, they more accurately serve what I would now order as enchilada soup.
Even this recipe isn’t a truly authentic tortilla soup (which is subject to all kinds of interpretation and controversy) but I really like a lot of the accoutrements the dish has picked up over the years. This recipe includes all the steps (that I’m aware of) to cook one serious tortilla soup, but it by no means has to be this complicated. Skip some steps, combine others, this is a supremely versatile soup that can be as simple or as complicated as you like, and a soup you can be certain will always be great.
* As assigned side work, the sundae bar made and broke friendships — friends didn’t give friends the sundae bar. Pleading, bargaining, cursing, threatening and bribing were commonplace at shift meetings because nobody wanted to face the Hell swarm of sticky, sugar-crazed children and their despairingly uncoordinated parents. Sundays were especially brutal. The dessert area on Sunday was what would happen if you got Eli Roth angry drunk and let him remake Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory — an epic frenzy of caramel, fudge and nuts that led many servers — and at least one manager — to openly weep in the server alley. Over many shifts, I came to realize that the sundae bar was built into a vintage bathtub not because it was a bit of charming kitsch, but because it was made of the only material that could possibly survive the constant onslaught, cast iron.
** Not the 2010 Sam Worthington/Liam Neeson remake, the real 1981 Clash of the Titans where Laurence Olivier was somehow Harry Hamlin’s dad and everything was stop-motion monsters and shiny metal owls. Man, I loved that movie.
Image: ForkingSpoon
Chicken tortilla soup recipe
Chicken tortilla soup is a traditional Mexican dish that can be as simple or as complicated as you like, with a loads of delicious garnishes and touches.
Ingredients
Instructions
Prepare the dried chiles
Cut off the stems of the pods and use a knife to scrape out the seeds. Tear or cut the chile pods in half. Heat a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium to high heat and dry roast the peppers for 30 seconds on each side. Place the peppers into a heat-safe bowl and cover with a 1/2 cup of boiling water (you may need to weigh the peppers down). Let sit for at least 30 minutes or until the peppers become very pliable. Let cool.
Cook the chicken in the stock
In a large stockpot over medium to high heat, add in the stock, chicken, 1 onion (cut in half), 2 whole garlic cloves and corn cobs and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally. Discard the onion, garlic and corn cobs and remove the chicken to a cutting board and let cool. Once the chicken has cooled enough to touch, shred with a fork (or forks). Cover and keep warm.
Broil the tomatoes
Set the oven to broil and cut the tomatoes in half. Place them cut-side up on a foil-lined pan and broil for 15 minutes or until the tomatoes are partially charred on top and completely softened. Let cool.
Combine the chiles, tomatoes and stock
Stir together the chiles, and tomatoes with the stock. Working in batches as necessary, carefully blend the stock mixture on high until it is completely smooth. Important: Blending hot liquid can be dangerous.
Sauté the onions, poblanos and corn
In a large stockpot over medium heat, cook the remaining onions (roughly chopped), poblano and corn kernels in vegetable oil for 5 minutes or until the onions become tender.
Add the garlic, spices and beans
Mix in the remaining garlic (grated or finely chopped), cumin, Mexican oregano and black beans and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Be sure to completely grind the Mexican oregano as the stems are hard and can be very distracting while you're eating if you're not careful.
Add the stock and corn flour
Pass the stock back into the stockpot through a fine mesh strainer. Ladle out about 1/4 cup of soup into a measuring cup and whisk the corn flour and stock together to form a slurry. Whisk the slurry back into soup. The corn flour is an efficient method to thicken and flavor the soup, which replaces the more traditional, namesake method of dissolving corn tortillas. Add 1/2 cup of cilantro and bring the soup to a simmer. Season with the salt and pepper.
Garnish the soup
Finish the soup by adding the shredded chicken back in and squeezing the juice of a lime wedge (or two) into each bowl of soup. Garnish with the remaining cilantro, avocado pieces, Mexican crema, pico de gallo, cheese and tortilla strips.
Cut tortillas into strips
Evenly stack the corn tortillas and cut in half. Stack the two halves together and cut into thin 3-inch strips.
Fry the tortilla strips
Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed pan or cast iron skillet, preheat about 2 inches of oil over medium to high heat. The oil should be a constant temperature of 350 degrees F. Working in small batches, use a slotted spoon or wire skimmer to hold down the strips for about 3 minutes per batch or until they turn golden brown. Remove to plate lined with paper towels to drain any excess grease. Sprinkle with salt.
Notes
Some of you out there may want to bake the tortilla strips instead of frying them. Here's how: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Coat the tortilla strips in spray oil, sprinkle with salt and lay them out evenly on a baking sheet. Cook for about 5 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the dried chiles
Cut off the stems of the pods and use a knife to scrape out the seeds. Tear or cut the chile pods in half. Heat a large heavy-bottomed pan over medium to high heat and dry roast the peppers for 30 seconds on each side. Place the peppers into a heat-safe bowl and cover with a 1/2 cup of boiling water (you may need to weigh the peppers down). Let sit for at least 30 minutes or until the peppers become very pliable. Let cool.
Cook the chicken in the stock
In a large stockpot over medium to high heat, add in the stock, chicken, 1 onion (cut in half), 2 whole garlic cloves and corn cobs and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally. Discard the onion, garlic and corn cobs and remove the chicken to a cutting board and let cool. Once the chicken has cooled enough to touch, shred with a fork (or forks). Cover and keep warm.
Broil the tomatoes
Set the oven to broil and cut the tomatoes in half. Place them cut-side up on a foil-lined pan and broil for 15 minutes or until the tomatoes are partially charred on top and completely softened. Let cool.
Combine the chiles, tomatoes and stock
Stir together the chiles, and tomatoes with the stock. Working in batches as necessary, carefully blend the stock mixture on high until it is completely smooth. Important: Blending hot liquid can be dangerous.
Sauté the onions, poblanos and corn
In a large stockpot over medium heat, cook the remaining onions (roughly chopped), poblano and corn kernels in vegetable oil for 5 minutes or until the onions become tender.
Add the garlic, spices and beans
Mix in the remaining garlic (grated or finely chopped), cumin, Mexican oregano and black beans and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Be sure to completely grind the Mexican oregano as the stems are hard and can be very distracting while you're eating if you're not careful.
Add the stock and corn flour
Pass the stock back into the stockpot through a fine mesh strainer. Ladle out about 1/4 cup of soup into a measuring cup and whisk the corn flour and stock together to form a slurry. Whisk the slurry back into soup. The corn flour is an efficient method to thicken and flavor the soup, which replaces the more traditional, namesake method of dissolving corn tortillas. Add 1/2 cup of cilantro and bring the soup to a simmer. Season with the salt and pepper.
Garnish the soup
Finish the soup by adding the shredded chicken back in and squeezing the juice of a lime wedge (or two) into each bowl of soup. Garnish with the remaining cilantro, avocado pieces, Mexican crema, pico de gallo, cheese and tortilla strips.
Cut tortillas into strips
Evenly stack the corn tortillas and cut in half. Stack the two halves together and cut into thin 3-inch strips.
Fry the tortilla strips
Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed pan or cast iron skillet, preheat about 2 inches of oil over medium to high heat. The oil should be a constant temperature of 350 degrees F. Working in small batches, use a slotted spoon or wire skimmer to hold down the strips for about 3 minutes per batch or until they turn golden brown. Remove to plate lined with paper towels to drain any excess grease. Sprinkle with salt.
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