Chicken Lime Soup

This one came into my cookbook by way of my co-worker Matt. He brought it for a pot luck, and I love love loved it!!!! He brought me the recipe, and it has sat in my cookbook for at least 3-4 years, never once being made. Until now, when today we had some cool fall weather, and I was looking for something warming, and easy. Well, the soup part is easy, I am giving this recipe a mixed difficulty of easy and medium, because although the soup is easy, the frying of the tortilla strips for topping may be challenging for others who are leery of pans of splattering oil.

Chicken Lime Soup

8 corn tortillas
½ cup vegetable oil
course sea salt
4 chicken breasts
10 cups chicken broth
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 pepper corns
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon dried oregano
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
2 large tomatoes , peeled and chopped
5 limes, juiced
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

Cut the tortillas into ¼ inch strips. Heat the oil in a medium skillet and when very hot, fry the tortilla strips, in small batches, until lightly golden and crisp. 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer to paper towel lined plate to drain. Season with sea salt to taste. Repeat until all tortilla strips have been fried. Set fried strips aside.

Add the chicken, broth, onion, garlic, pepper corns, salt, oregano, jalapenos and tomatoes into a large sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a slow simmer and cook until the chicken is just cooked through, 20-25 minutes. Remove chicken from the soup and set aside until cool enough to handle. Allow coup to continue simmering.

When the chicken has cooled a bit, shred into bite size pieces and return to the pot along with the lime juice and cilantro leaves. cook for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is heated through and the soup is piping hot. Ladle the soup into wide soup bowls, with a handful of tortilla strips added to each bowl. If desired garnish with additional fresh cilantro and serve immediately.

Before I get to the comments, let me tell you what I did change and what I’d do differently next time, cause there definitely will be a next time.

I skipped the 2 teaspoons of salt, because I figured my broth had enough sodium in it already (and it was the reduced sodium at that) and I think that was a good call. Plus I prefer to sprinkle a little salt on the top when I eat it anyway.

Also – going forward, because the chief commentator loves dark meat rather than breasts, I think I’ll make the recipe with thigh meat, and or a whole chicken.

and finally, I like a little more heat, so I would prolly double or triple the number of jalapeno’s in the recipe.

Comments: Chief commentator said he is going to request this once a week in the winter. He loved the tang of the lime with the chicken and the broth. He specifically loved how un-salty the broth is! (good call on my part to leave out the extra salt)

I love this recipe too. I like how healthy (if you keep the tortillas out of it) that it can be. I love the zip of the lime juice, and the hearty comfort quality of the broth.

Definitely a new favorite.