Chicken Tomatillo Soup

Tomatillos are bordering on the “obscure ingredient” boundary that I’ve set for this food blog.  BUT I’m letting it slide because they can be found in most grocery stores and because I wrote a little tutorial about them that can be found HERE.  I hope you’ll forgive this little jaunt, especially since I love this fruit SO much now that I’ve worked with it.

With that being said, you really ought to try this soup:

I know that Mexican Tortilla soup recipes are a dime a dozen on line, but I dare you to compare the freshness of this recipe to any of those others that use taco meat seasoning packets or bottled salsa.  This recipe got the whole family excited – even my sister in law who was visiting.  It doesn’t have a lot of kick to it since my boys are spice sissies, but if you want more spice adding some diced jalapenos or tabasco sauce would be a very simple alteration.

Chicken Tomatillo Soup

• Shredded chicken meat (about 2 breasts worth)
• 4 c. chicken broth (I used low-sodium)
• 1 can beans, drained and rinsed (I used black, but pinto or kidney would go great)
• 1/2 c. corn
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 tomatillos, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 can chopped tomatoes, including liquid
• 1/4 cup cilantro, divided
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 bay leaf

Top soup with:

• shredded cheese (cheddar, jack, mexican blend), if desired
• 1 avocado, diced (Recommended – Jay and I couldn’t get enough of the avocado in ours)
• sour cream, if desired
• tortilla chips

If not using leftover chicken, place 2 chicken breasts in a pot with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer until the chicken tests done, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the water, allow to cool a bit then shred the chicken by hand or with forks.  Store shredded chicken in fridge until ready to use it.

Add a little cooking spray to your soup pot and set over medium heat. Add onions and the tomatillos and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, until the onions have softened and are beginning to turn a light brown. Stir in the chopped garlic cloves and cook for another 2 minutes.  Next, add the chopped tomatoes with liquid, beans, corn, chicken, cumin, paprika, bay leaf, cilantro, and finally the chicken broth.

Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Remove the bay leaf before serving.  Serve the hot soup with the toppings I used or others to your liking.

Happy Cooking!

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.