Chicken And Lime Tortilla Soup

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 cups medium-grain brown rice, cooked according to directions
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 large chicken breast halves, bone-in & skin-on (about 1.5 lbs.)
• 1 large yellow onion, small dice
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• cayenne pepper
• 2 limes, juice of, to 3 to taste
• 1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and minced (optional)
• avocado, diced
• tortilla chips, crushed
• lime wedge
• cotija cheese, crumbled
• fresh cilantro, chopped coarsely

Recipe

• 1 cut each piece of chicken into two, through the middle horizontally, to make four equal pieces. (use a large sharp knife or kitchen shears to get through the bone.).
• 2 in a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat until shimmering.
• 3 add about 3/4 of the diced onion. cook for 3-5 minutes, or until mildly soft and slightly charred looking--but not burned.
• 4 remove onion with slotted spoon and set aside. add the rest of the oil and reduce heat to medium.
• 5 salt and pepper chicken pieces, then lay skin side down in oil. saute until well browned (4-5 minutes), then flip over and saute 3-4 more minutes.
• 6 add whole can of tomatoes, chicken broth, all of the onion and jalapeno. bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer.
• 7 add oregano and salt and simmer for 20 minutes more, uncovered.
• 8 remove chicken from stock, discard skin and bones and shred meat with two forks.
• 9 add cayenne pepper and lime juice to taste (should be slightly spicy and slightly tart).
• 10 at this point, soup will be fairly chunky. you can blend with a standing burr mixer in the pot, or throw the soup into a blender to smooth out. or, you can eat it chunky. whatever.
• 11 add chicken meat back to stock and reheat.
• 12 put desired amount of cooked rice in individual bowls, then ladle soup over top and garnish as desired.
• 13 note: to store leftovers, rice must be kept separate from soup, or it will absorb all of the liquid!