Chicken Tortilla Soup

It seems like the rainy weather is never going to stop. Isn’t it supposed to be “April showers bring May flowers”? I for one am ready for the beautiful spring sun, days on the playground, walking around with just a light jacket. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. Monday was just another cold and rainy day, and to me it felt more like fall than spring…so soup was what we needed for dinner to warm up.

Chicken Tortilla soup is hearty with a little kick, perfect for a chilly night. This soup is as close to a “dump and cook” soup as you can get; other than chopping onion and garlic, you are basically opening cans and dumping in – easy AND delicious.

As I mentioned, the chopping of the onion and garlic is basically the only work you need to do for this recipe. Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium high heat. Chop the onion and 3 garlic cloves and add it the heated pot.

Cook the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes, stirring often, until the onion softens and begins to brown. Then add in all the spices and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. I like to heat up the spices in the pot for a minute before adding the liquid, as it helps wake up the spices, bring out their flavor and really allow them to add their full punch to the dish.

Once the spices have cooked in, add in the tomatoes, chicken stock and beer. Stir together and bring to a light boil.

While the soup is coming to a boil, take 3 small corn tortillas and slice them into 1/4 inch slices. Once the soup begins to bubble, add in the strips and stir together. Are you wondering why you add tortilla strips to the soup now? Are you wondering if they are going to be soggy? Well actually, as the soup cooks, the tortilla strips will break down and almost dissolve into the soup, acting as a thickener. You won’t notice them, but trust me, they give the soup texture and a delicious hint of tortilla flavor that give this soup it’s Mexican flair. Allow the soup to simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add in your shredded chicken, hominy and frozen corn. Continue to use the grocery store to help you with the section of the recipe. I bought a rotisserie chicken and shredded one breast, one leg and one wing. I like to use a mixture of white meat and dark meat for the added flavor and texture. I always have frozen veggies in my freezer, so I easily grabbed the bag of corn kernels and added them in. If you have never used hominy, give it a shot. It is a large, chewy, more pillowy version of corn. Many Mexican restaurants add hominy to their tortilla soup. It adds a bit of thickness, texture and an authentic feeling to the soup. You can find it canned in the international section of your grocery store. Just rinse the hominy before you add it to the soup, just as you would canned beans. Allow the soup to cook for 10 minutes so the veggies and chicken heat up and all the flavors marry together.

Lastly, prepare your toppings. OK, I’m now realizing I lied before. You do need to chop your avocado and cilantro for your toppings if you choose to have them. Oops, sorry! But other than that, you buy shredded cheese and you can buy the tri-colored tortilla strips. You can of course make your own by frying tortillas or even using the air fryer! But I chose to take the easy way out and buy them…I suspect most of you will to.

When the soup is ready, stir in 1/2 the cilantro and serve immediately. NOTE: you can omit the cilantro. I know there are people who have a very adverse reaction to cilantro – I believe it is actually genetic! You can simply leave it out and the soup will still be delicious. Here’s an idea – just add more of the other toppings! I think the more toppings the better, I even continue to add toppings as I eat. I hope this is the last hot soup I have to post about for a while. Come on spring! I am ready for some light dinners, easy salads and delicious vegetables!