Chiapas Chicken Tortilla Soup

Total Time: 2 hrs 15 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 lb chicken thigh
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 jalapeno peppers, 1 halved and seeded, 1 seeded and minced
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, stems reserved, leaves chopped
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
• 6 cups water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, minced (about 2 cups)
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 6 corn tortillas, torn into 1 inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
• 2 1/2 cups seeded and chopped fresh tomatoes or 2 1/2 cups canned tomatoes
• 1 lime, juice of
• 2 teaspoons salt

Recipe

• 1 combine the chicken thighs, chopped onion, garlic cloves, halved jalapeno, whole cilantro stems, celery, carrot and water in a medium saucepan.
• 2 bring to a boil over high heat.
• 3 reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 1 hour.
• 4 strain the stock, reserving the cooking liquid and the chicken thighs separately; discard the other solids.
• 5 when the chicken thighs are cool enough to handle, remove the meat.
• 6 dice and reserve it.
• 7 heat the olive oil in a large nonreactive saucepan set over medium heat until it ripples.
• 8 add the minced onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
• 9 add the minced garlic and minced jalapeno and cook for 3 minutes.
• 10 add the tortillas, chili powder, cumin and oregano, and cook for 1 minute.
• 11 stir in the chopped tomatoes and 3 1/2 cups of the reserved chicken broth.
• 12 reduce the heat to low and simmer until the tortillas have dissolved and the soup has thickened, about 30 minutes.
• 13 add the diced chicken.
• 14 if the soup looks too thick, add some of the reserved broth.
• 15 to serve, stir in the lime juice and salt.
• 16 ladle into warmed bowls and top with the reserved chopped cilantro.