OK first don’t laugh at my poorly staged picture. It’s been busy around here – I haven’t felt like I’ve had time really to update this site – but I loved this simple easy to prepare soup and figured I would try to share the recipe tonight – bad picture and all!
Life has caught up with us lately now that the kids are back to school and activities the calendar seems to fill up quickly and us parents are left pretty tired by the end of most days! In fact my husband and I sometimes have trouble staying up past 10 – we are definately getting old. I’ve been a little under the weather lately – and the cold weather has arrived in Bonnyville with snow flying this morning – it felt like a perfect day for a hot bowl of soup.
This recipe is from Whitewater Cooks at Home cookbook.
This is a really quick and simple soup – which is great garnished with some fried up corn tortillas, chunks of avocado, a little grated monterey jack or smoked cheddar and a squeeze of lime.
To fry up your tortillas – cut some into thin strips. Heat up some about 1/2 cup of oil in a small frying pan. Fry them a few at a time in the oil – flipping over once until golden brown. Set aside on a paper towel.
For the soup:
– 1/4 cup veg oil (I used less than this but this is what the original recipe calls for)
– 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
– 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
– 1/2 cup cilantro (plus extra for garnish if you like another 1/2 cup)
– 1 – 28 oz can of tomatoes
– 2 tbsp masa harina (flour made from corn treated with lime – you can find in most grocer’s in the flour aisle)
– 1 tsp cumin
– 4 cups low sodium chicken stock
– 1 cup water
– 2 large chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
– 2 tsp salt
– 1 tsp pepper
– 2 avocadoes pitted, peeled and diced
– 1 cup of monterey jack cheese shredded (or I used Smoked Applewood Cheddar)
– Juice of 2 limes
Heat 2 tsp of oil over medium high heat in a large soup pot. Add your onion, garlic and 1/2 cup of cilantro and saute until golden brown, about 10 minutes
Transfer your sauteed mixture to a food processor or blender and add the tomatoes. Puree until smooth
Heat another 2 tsp of the oil over medium high heat. Add your tomato mixture, masa harina and cumin, and cook stirring frequently until thickened (about 10 minutes). Add your chicken stock and water, bring to a simmer. Add your chicken pieces and cook another 10 minutes approx. until your chicken is fully cooked. Season with salt and pepper.
Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro, avocado, cheese, fresh lime juice and tortillas.
Serves about 8
