What’s Cooking at Third Coast? It’s Smoky Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for pan-frying 1 medium white onion, diced 2 garlic cloves, minced 2-3 T diced green chiles* 2 T diced chipotles in adobo sauce* 3 Roma tomatoes, peeled and chopped 1 quart chicken broth salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 4 corn tortillas, cut into 1/4-inch-thick strips 1.5 cups shredded cooked chicken 1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and diced 8 ounces Jack cheese, cubed 1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro, for garnish (optional) 1 lime, cut in wedges, for garnish (optional) *You can mess around with the peppers. One recipe calls for one jalapeno, minced. I like the smokiness from the chipotles. You can also substitute dried pasilla peppers, roasted, soaked, minced and pureed. (Too much trouble? That's what I thought.) Place a stockpot over medium heat and coat with 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring for 2 minutes to soften. Add the tomatoes and cook until they release their juices, about 2 minutes. Stir in the green chiles and diced chipotles and sauce. Pour in the broth, season with salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for 30 minutes. (You can make the soup to this point and refrigerate, then reheat and serve later. I like to do this with soups and stews if there's time, because this allows the flavors to deepen.) Meanwhile, heat 1 inch of oil in a skillet over a medium-high flame. When the oil begins to smoke, add the tortilla strips in batches and fry until they are crisp on all sides, about 1 minute. Remove to a paper-towel-lined platter and sprinkle with salt while they are still hot. Put a pile of warm shredded chicken in the bottoms of four soup bowls. Ladle the hot soup over the meat. Top with the diced avocado, cheese and fried tortilla strips. Garnish with the cilantro and lime wedges. All photos by Nancy Bishop.Nancy S Bishop
Nancy S. Bishop is publisher and Stages editor of Third Coast Review. She’s a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and a 2014 Fellow of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. You can read her personal writing on pop culture at nancybishopsjournal.com, and follow her on Twitter @nsbishop. She also writes about film, books, art, architecture and design.