simple chicken tortilla soup – smitten kitchen

Make the soup: Heat a large or 4-quart soup pot over medium-high. Once hot, add olive oil. Once oil is hot add onion, garlic, and jalapeño and cook, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown at the edges, about 5 minutes. Add cumin and chile cook one minute. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, until one shade darker, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add 3 cups chicken broth and stir to combine. Add chicken thighs and bring the soup to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover, simmering for 15 minutes, until chicken is very tender and cooked through. Remove chicken with tongs and transfer to a cutting board. Add beans and corn (optional; still frozen is fine to soup), gently simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. While it simmers, use two forks to shred chicken into bite-sized pieces. Season soup well with salt and black pepper. Return shredded chicken to soup and warm through, 1 minute. If the soup is too thick for your liking at this point, add all or part of remaining 1 cup broth and bring back to a simmer. Check seasoning again and adjust to taste.

Remove from heat and squeeze lime juice of half a lime over. Serve with any finishings of your choice; shown here with avocado, cilantro, cotija, tortilla strips, and hot sauce.

Want to make fried corn tortilla strips? In a large nonstick frying pan, heat a generous 1/4-inch of a neutral/high heat-safe oil over medium-high until a drop of water flicked in sizzles dramatically. Add a handful of corn tortilla strips and cook, stirring a bit, until they begin to brown at the edges, 2 to 3 minutes. Scoop out with tongs or a slotted spoon, shaking off excess oil, and transfer to paper towels to drain. Season immediately with salt. Repeat with remaining strips. I promise, there will be no leftovers, but if there are, they keep in a bag at room temperature for a few days.