Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup from Chef John, a feel-good dish that will fill you up and warm your soul! Creamy and loaded with shredded chicken, fresh veggies & crisp tortilla strips! It is also great for family dinner, it has been a party hit!

Why Make This Recipe

Chicken Tortilla Soup — the perfect stomach-warming and hearty soup recipe for your family! This is super delicious, simple to make and kid friendly too! It´s brand new and an amazing way to make that whole chicken from yesterday work for you the second time around!

Chef John’s Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (4.5 pounds)
• 3 white onions, halved and half divided
• 1 bunch cilantro, rinsed well
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorn
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• 2 dried chili pepper pods, seeded (if you like)
• 3 quarts water
• 3 large tomatoes
• Sweet red pepper, halved and seeded (1)
• 1 or 2 small jalapeños, halved and seeded
• 6 peeled garlic cloves
• 1 whole chipotle pepper packed in adobo, from a can
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Directions

1. Put the chicken in a large soup pot with 1 halved onion, cilantro stems, bay leaves, oregano , peppercorns and optional chili pods; add enough water to cover by an inch. Simmer on low heat for few minutes. Let it simmer for 1 hour.
2. In the meantime let´s prepare our tortilla strips. DirectionsPreheat your oven at either 180 C/350 F or 190C /375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut tortillas in half and into strips 1/4 inch wide. Put them on the baking sheet, and sprinkle with oil. It Over a rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle salt and toss to coat with cut fries Garlic Salt (to taste) Cherry Tomatoes; Halved.Directions Preheat oven to, spread on prepared parchment paper-lined baking sliced potatoes Vegetable Oil Onion Powder French Fries Perf.Ing.Recipe .
3. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, tossing once or twice until golden brown and crispy. Set them aside when done.
4. Remove the chicken safely in a separate big bowl. Reduce the heat of broth to a loοow simmer and keep warm.
5. Once the chicken is cool to handle, shred meat and put in a container, chilled until we needed it later. Return the bones, skin and scrap to the pot with your broth Let it cook on low heat to softly simmer for 4 hours in total. If the broth is too thick, you can then add a little water to it.
6. After 2 hours, you will finally get around to making the charred vegetable salsa. Set the rack on a broiler, and turn on high (about 8 inches below). Prepare another baking sheet by lining with foil and spraying lightly with oil. Throw in the rest of your 2 onions, tomatoes sweet red pepper and jalapeño
7. Broil the vegetables 7 to 10 minutes, or until browned. Blend the vegetables in a blender with 2 garlic clove, chipotle peper and sugar to taste. Combine well until smooth adding water as necessary for consistency.  Pour into an iron skillet on medium high heat till mixture is hot throughout but not boiling lightly sprinkle cheese over top set aside
8. Add the salsa (in my case, I used freshly made red chile sauce) once all is blended and cook over medium low heat. Cover and simmer, stirring often for another 2 hours. When ready, put a fine mesh strainer over another pot and carefully filter the soup into it by pressing down on all of those chicken bits to get every single bit of liquid out. Strain and discard the solids then season with salt.
9. Then add the cumin, shredded chicken and juice of one lime. Allow it to cook over low simmer for 15–30 minutes, stirring every now and then. Finally, for one last time taste and adjust the seasoning.