I’ve come to know that Rick Bayless is the man. I started watching his PBS show a couple of years ago, and bought his cookbook, Mexican Everyday. Everything I’ve made of his has been phenomenal.
I personally think my red hair and freckles were somehow a mistake, because the truth is, I have Mexican in my blood. I love green chile, I love red chile, I love chips, I love salsa (the hotter the better!), I love tortillas, I love guacamole, and I love Chicken tortilla soup. I always figured it was hard to make, but RB showed me the light. It’s easy … I promise!
Chicken Tortilla Soup
1 large dried Pasilla (negro) Chile, stemmed and seeded*
One 15-oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 med white onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 quarts chicken broth
salt
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves cut into 1/2 inch cubes (or a store bought rotisserie chicken, meat pulled from bone and chopped)
1 large ripe avocado, cubed
1 1/2 cups shredded mexican cheese (I just use quesadilla cheese)
4 cups (about 6 oz) broken tortilla chips
1 lime, wedged
Sour cream (for garnish)
Chopped cilantro (for garnish)
Optional: 1 roasted chopped hot green chile, which we buy in the fall and freeze in small bags. This year we have nitros and only need less then a tsp. to get very spicy soup. Try adding a dash of hot sauce to replace this ingredient.
Quickly toast the chile by turning it an inch or two above an open flame for a few seconds, until aroma fills the kitchen. Break into pieces and put in blender along with tomatoes and their juice. Heat the oil in a large (4 quart) sauce pan over med-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 7 – 10 min. Scoop out the onion and garlic and add to blender. Process until smooth. Return to the pan and put over med-high heat. Stir nearly constantly until the thickness of tomato paste – about 6 minutes. Add the chicken broth, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste (usually needs a generous teaspoon of salt). Just before serving add the chicken to the simmering broth. If using the raw, cubed chicken cook until done (about 5 min) if using the rotisserie chicken just stir it in. Ladle into bowls and serve with chips, cheese, avocado, lime and cilantro.
*Here in Denver, pasilla chiles are easy to get at the Avanza super markets. But the first time I made this recipe, I only had time to shop at the grocery store across the street. Being Denver, they had some dried chile’s, but being pretty deep suberbia, they did not have pasilla’s. I used a type of chile that they labeled rista chiles (they worked great).
by tani
4 comments
link to this post email a friend