Chicken Tortilla Soup

During a business trip to San Antonio in 2008, I was struck by a mighty cough and cold. Though enervated and mostly voiceless throughout, I managed to stick it through, sustained in no small part by multiple daily helpings of flavorful, nutritious chicken tortilla soup from Sazo's. The recipe below is adapted from their own - it turned out to be a rich, comforting soup with just the right amount of heat, though I skipped the cheese and fried tortilla strips, and despite a rather makeshift broth. (The chicken parts I was planning to use for stock had spoiled, and I didn't have any good canned broth available, so I made do with 4 cups water, two cubes of Telma veggie boullion and a cheesecloth-wrapped bundle of chopped onion, 6 cloves of crushed garlic, 1/2 tsp. of black peppercorns and a smattering of dried thyme. Simmered all that for 20 minutes, squeezed all the juices out of the bundle - the resultant broth turned out quite tasty - then proceeded with the recipe.)

• 4 cups chicken stock 
• 2 chicken breasts (originally 3, but I made do with what the little bodega had)
• 2 cups tomatoes, seeded and diced (used canned Muir Glen; original called for 3 large tomatoes)
• 1 large yellow onion, diced (originally a white one)
• 1 cup salsa - Jardine's 7J Ranch Texasalsa, Hot (originally 2 cups of picante sauce)
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• guacamole to taste (used this recipe)
• fried tortilla strips (skipped this time)
• cheese to taste (skipped this time - may use a mixture of cheddar and Monterey Jack next time)

Place chicken and stock in a pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer till chicken is done, about 15 minutes (when it reaches 160 degrees). Remove chicken from liquid and reserve.

Add tomatoes, onion, salsa/picante sauce, salt, pepper and cumin to liquid. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Dice cooked chicken and add to liquid. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Adjust seasoning if necessary, then add cilantro.

Cut tortillas into strips and fry till crispy. To serve, place tortilla strips, a generous scoop of guacamole, and grated cheese in a bowl, then ladle soup over everything.

Guac It to Me!

I had never made guacamole before - but I'm feeling poorly again, and have been craving some chicken tortilla soup that requires it for a garnish. A slight modification of Alton Brown's recipe (to fit the contents of my pantry) produced something rich and flavorful, more than capable of standing on its own.

• 1 avocado, seeded and peeled
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. cumin
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne powder
• 1/4 large red onion, diced
• 1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced (used about 2/3 cup of canned Muir Glens)
• 1 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Combine avocado and lime juice in a nonreactive bowl. When avocado is coated, drain and reserve any leftover juice.

Add salt, cumin and cayenne; mix and mash together (used two forks).

Add red onion, tomato, cilantro and garlic. Mix and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Add reserved lime juice (if any - there wasn't any for me). Let sit at room temperature for an hour, then serve.