#RavsRecipes: Chicken Tortilla Soup
Soup. I loved the traditional ones like molè and pisolè, served with fresh tortillas. And my favorite, tortilla soup.
When I was a small child, we left the lush, rainy beauty of the Pacific Northwest and made our way down to the dust bowl and flatlands of West Texas.
It was traumatic, to say the least.
It was hot. It was dry. It was a brand-new culture that my family did not understand. Four things ruled our new town:
- Oil
- God
- High school football
- Tex-Mex food
I quickly discovered the things that I loved on this list, and Tex-Mex was a big one. I never experienced flavors and food like that. After our first church service, we went to a Mexican food restaurant. They offered us chips and salsa, which I devoured. The fresh acidic tones of the tomato with the spice of the jalapeño and sweet earthiness of the onion and garlic thrilled my taste buds. My family watched me devour salsa that was too spicy for them, with ease. I kept going back for more.
I didn't love West Texas, but I loved their food.
And soup. I loved the traditional ones like molè and pisolè, served with fresh tortillas. And my favorite, tortilla soup. I discovered there are many different ways to make it, and it was one of the first dishes I made on my own. I discovered fast ways to make it, slow ways to make it, easy ways to make it, and different ingredients that would bring different flavor profiles to the dish.
If chicken wasn't available, I could make it without the chicken. I could just use corn tortillas, avocado, sour cream, and whatever cheese we had in the refrigerator to fill out the substance of the soup. Adding chicken provided a richer flavor, and adding chicken thighs in particular made the soup hearty, flavorful, and the meat stayed tender and juicy.
As an adult, I returned to the Pacific Northwest where my soul is nourished by the green and the water and the mountains around me. But dear Lord, I miss the West Texas Mexican food. I re-create this when spring is just beginning to turn into summer, the days are long and quickly warming up. Grabbing fresh cilantro and tomatoes from my garden makes the soup even more special.
My favorite childhood version involves very little prep, is made using a very simple method, and is perfect for early summer consumption around your outdoor dining table or sitting in front of your air conditioner because maybe your town is too damn hot to enjoy eating outside. Either way, you can play with the recipe, make it your own. Share it with your friends. Serve it with a side of fresh corn tortillas or a bag of tortilla chips. Add some fresh chopped jalapeño to the bowl for more heat, or cojita cheese to cool it down on your palate. There are many ways to dress this up, make it fancy or make it even healthier. But for now, fast and easy wins the dinner game in my house.
Ingredients
2 quarts chicken broth
1 pound chicken thighs
1 small can green chilies
1 jar tomato paste
1 onion, diced
1 cup fresh tomatoes, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pkg authentic taco seasoning
Directions
In a 4 quart soup pot, add onion, tomato, tomato paste, garlic, green chilies, and taco seasoning to chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
Add chicken thighs to boiling stock (very carefully!). Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer on low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Trust me, you do not want undercooked chicken.
When chicken is cooked, remove it from the broth and transfer it to a large bowl. Using two forks, pull the chicken apart and shred. This is the part where you feel like you should be on Food Network, BTW. It's like kitchen ninja skills.
Once your chicken is thoroughly shredded, add it back to the stockpot. Serve immediately and garnish with fresh avocado, sour cream, cojita or jack cheese, corn tortilla chips, or slices of fresh corn tortillas. Add chopped cilantro on top for a beautiful finish and bright herby note.
