Tortill-YEAH soup!

Photo credit: Emeril Lagasse

Living in Austin, there is no shortage of delicious Mexican food! In fact, for the last 6 months, I’ve made it my personal mission to seek out the best places for all things Mexican: Margaritas, Queso, Tacos, etc; I love experiencing new restaurants and then trying to mimic those recipes at home. My husband prefers the margarita sampling. ;)

Recently, we ate at a local restaurant called Verde’s and their chicken tortilla soup was among the best I’ve EVER had. This is a bold statement, if you know about my love for tortilla soup!

So naturally, I went back on my mission to make the perfect soup at home; after years, (YES YEARS!) and many failed attempts to get it “just right”, today I succeeded! I mean, I NAILED it. I can’t take all the credit, though-- good ole’ Emeril Lagasse got me started with his recipe... and then I tweaked his recipe to make it “my own”.

Let me tell you folks, I’ll never make another kind for as long as I live! Another great benefit to this soup (besides how yummy it is), it’s a “clean” recipe and is extremely low carb (especially if you omit the tortilla strips). All of the ingredients required to make it can be organic… you might even have most of these things in your pantry, already! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Olive Oil - 2 Tablespoons
• Yellow Onion, Finely Chopped-1
• Garlic, Finely Chopped - 1 1/2 Tablespoons
• Poblano Pepper, Seeded and Chopped - 1
• Salt - 3 Teaspoons
• Ground Cumin - 3 Teaspoons
• Ground Coriander - 1 1/2 Teaspoons 
• 1 can Tomato Paste
• Chicken Stock - 8 Cups
• Rotisserie Chicken from Grocery, remove skin and pull or dice meat- 1
• Fresh Lime Juices - 1 Tablespoon

Garnish:

• Stale Corn Tortillas, Sliced Into 1/4 Inch-Thick Strips - 12
• Avocado, Sliced - 2
• Jack Cheese, Shredded - 2 Cups

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a large, heavy bottomed Dutch oven, cook the onion, garlic and peppers over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or just until they begin to soften. Add the salt, cumin and coriander and continue to cook for 5 minutes longer so spices become nicely fragrant. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
3. Add chicken broth to Dutch oven and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Add chicken to Dutch oven and continue to simmer for 10 minutes. Add cilantro and lime juice and stir.
4. Meanwhile, spread tortilla strips out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet (you'll probably need 2 baking sheets.) Spray tortillas evenly with nonstick cooking spray. Bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until they are just starting to slightly brown and are crispy. Sprinkle hot strips with salt and pepper.
5. Serve soup and garnish each bowl with avocado, cheese and tortilla strips as desired.