I am going to confess right now that tortilla soup is my absolute favorite soup of all time! I did not grow up enjoying these two versions of tortilla soup. What I did grow up enjoying wee other traditional soup recipes like caldo de res, caldo de pollo, menudo, pozole and caldo de albondigas! I love them all!
I know I am not the only one that could eat this soup year-round!
Change it up the next day!
Most of us have a can of corn and or beans in our pantry that we forget all about, right? And you are like me, there is always a can or two of fire roasted green chile, just in case! On this day I found myself with some green chiles that I had to use up, so I quickly roasted them in the air fryer at 400 degrees for 12 minutes. It has been my experience that when I do decide to order chicken tortilla soup at a restaurant, it typically comes with corn and black beans. It is not the most traditional way to prepare it, but it is delicious! I decided to mix the traditional with the more Tex Mex version.
I am a sucker for fried tortilla strips!
Fried tortilla strips in most any soup is tasty to me! I prefer them instead of croutons on my salads too! Prepare quick chilaquiles or migas con huevo with any extra tortilla strips. It will definitely satisfy that craving. Or do like my siblings and I used to do. Squeeze on some fresh lime juice and add your favorite bottled hot sauce for a spicy snack. Yes!
This is a great base!
This is a great soup base not only for tortilla soup, but also for caldo de camaron(shrimp soup), cabbage soup, mole de olla(beef soup) or even a sopa de conchas. So many possibilities. Heck, you could even prepare it with a little less broth and use it as an enchilada sauce. Tasty!
Chicken Tortilla Soup Two Ways!
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Chicken quarters
- 3 1/2 liters water
- 1 large white onion, sliced in half
- 8 large cloves of garlic
- 1 carrot
- 1 stick celery
- handful of cilantro
- 1 1/2 tsps salt
- 4 Large Roma tomatoes
- 1 serrano pepper
- 3 large dried chile ancho or chile pasilla stems and seeds removed
- 2 chile morita
- 20 corn tortillas
- 10 oz Panela cheese, cubed
- 1 c Mexican crema
- 2 Avocados, sliced or cubed
- 2 Limes, sliced into wedges
Instructions
- 3 lbs chicken quarters
- After washing the chicken, cover with 3 1/2 liters of water. Add 1/2 of an onion, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 carrot, 1 stick of celery, handful of cilantro and 1 1/2 tsps. of salt. Bring up to a boil. Skim foam off the top and cook for 40 minutes.
- In the air fryer, roast the other 1/2 of the onion, 4 Roma tomatoes, 3 cloves of garlic and 1 Serrano pepper for 12-15 minutes at 400 degrees. Or place under the preheated broiler for 15 minutes.
- Remove the stems and seeds from 2 dried chile ancho. Transfer to simmering water to soften for 10 minutes.
- Slice 20 corn tortillas into strip and fry in preheated vegetable oil until crispy. Drain onto paper towels.
- In that same oil fry 1 chile ancho and the two dried chile morita for 20-25 seconds or until crispy. When cool, crush fried Chiles. Set them aside.
- Remove all of the solids from the cooked chicken. Discard the vegetables. Shred the meat from the chicken and set aside.
- In the blender, add the roasted tomato, onion, garlic, serrano, 2 softened chile ancho and 1 1/2 c of the broth from the pot. Blend on high until smooth. Pour salsa into the pot with broth. Stir well to combine. Bring up to a simmer. Taste for salt. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add all the shredded chicken and cook for another 10 minutes.
- To serve, to a bowl add some chicken with plenty of broth. Add more tortilla strips. Garnish with cubed queso panela, fried crushed Chiles, Mexican crema, avocado and lime.
Notes
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