Our Favorite Chicken Tortilla Soup

When I've been sick a few days nothing sounds better than a bowl of hot & spicy soup. And for us there really is nothing more comforting than a good chicken tortilla soup. After 4 days of a sore throat, stuffy head and deep cough it was time to bring on this comfort and make some soup.

We just returned from Chicago where we spent 4 days eating, eating and eating some more. 

Frontera Grill's Bar

And visiting Rick Bayless's Frontera Grill is almost always a Chicago must visit for us. If you've frequented our posts you might know G is somewhat of a Rick Bayless fan and a lot of  our meals are inspired by his flavors. 

We make chicken tortilla soup several times a year. And each time we take a trip to Mexico we try as many different restaurants' tortilla soup as we can to build our palate so we can attempt to bring those same authentic flavors home to the soup we make. 

We've made many different versions of tortilla soup but Rick's process of toasting dried chiles and then frying them to reconstitute the flavor has become one of our favorites. This time we decided to mostly wing our own version of the soup but to definitely include his process for building the flavor of the broth with the toasted chiles.

Most recipes you find will call for you to fry strips of corn tortilla. We've adapted a "fryless" method to avoid both the mess frying and the extra calories that we never really need. 

We use a pizza cutter to cut thin strips of corn tortillas. 

Then place them on a sheet pan and bake them in a 350 degree oven. Tossing them every 5-8 minutes until they are browned & crispy. They provide the same crunch and texture in the soup that fried tortillas do.

We first de-seeded some dried chiles and toasted them in a dry pan on the stove. And then saute them with onions, serrano chile and garlic in olive oil before adding them with a can of fire roasted tomatoes in the blender to create a puree. 

Then we saute the chicken and put it aside and add the puree back to the dutch oven and reduce it until it's thick and rich and finally add the chicken stock.

Then we create our own bowls of soup with the variety of toppings. As they do in Mexico we always start first with the first layer in our bowl being a cubed, fresh, slow melting Mexican cheese like Queso Fresco or Panella. Then of course followed by chicken either cubed or shredded. 

This time we actually added some cooked lentils to add some additional protein and texture. 

We then add broth, chopped avocado, cilantro, tortilla strips and a squeeze of lime. Sometimes we'll also add Mexican crema but not always.

The toasting of chiles followed by sauteing them and pureeing them with the fire roasted tomatoes really does help build a great depth of flavor. This time I added 1 serrano chile as well to increase the spice since I was all stuffed up.

The lentils probably aren't authentic at all, at least we've never had them in a tortilla soup in Mexico, but since we've been making this for almost 15 years we are at a point that we are trying to create our own favorite version. This one might go on our the top 3 list.

Recipe:

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Makes 8-10 servings depending on serving size

Soup Ingredients:

2 dried pasilla ancho chiles (or whatever dried Mexican chiles you prefer really), seeds removed and torn into small pieces

1 can of fire-roasted tomatoes 

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 minced serrano chile, seeds removed

8 cups chicken broth

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder (optional)

1 lb chicken breast, cut into small chunks

1 cup cooked lentils (optional)

Toppings:

fresh lime wedges

corn tortilla strips made from corn tortillas (see notes within the post)

1/2 cup cubed 

avocados (1-2), pit removed and diced

fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

Toast the chiles in a dry skillet over medium heat) until they are soft and fragrant. Set aside on a cutting board to cool.

Saute diced onion, garlic, serrano and toasted chiles in olive oil until soft and translucent 5-6 minutes. 

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked onion, chile and garlic to a blender with the can of fire roasted tomatoes and chiles. Puree all of the ingredients together until very smooth.

Cook chicken in dutch oven, season with salt, pepper and chipotle powder, when cooked through and set aside.

Return the soup pot to high heat. Once pot is very hot, add the pureed tomato chile mixture all at once--it should sizzle immediately. Continue to cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens substantially--for about 5-6 minutes--once it is ready, it should resemble the thickness of a loose tomato paste.

Add the chicken broth to the pot and combine thoroughly using a spoon or whisk. Reduce the heat and allow the broth to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper to taste.

Over low heat, add the lentils and chicken. Stir occasionally until chicken is just cooked through (this should only take 2-3 minutes). Finish the soup with lime juice.

Serve hot with toppings (or alternatively, place toppings in empty bowls and pour soup directly over them).

Chicken Ramen with Crispy Chicken Skin

Lately we've developed a pretty healthy craving on a regular basis for a good homemade ramen. Yes, both of us individually as college students consumed our fair share of totally unhealthy packaged ramen dishes. It kind of makes me swell just thinking of it but what can we say those college days were lean.

We've tried a few different recipes with some mild satisfaction but really we learned making a good broth isn't a quick or super easy endeavor. 

We adapted a few different recipes we found to make the best ramen and broth we've made to date. We started with bone in, skin on chicken thighs. Both the bones and skin really add to the flavor of the broth so we feel this is what made all the difference with this ramen. 

Somewhat mistakenly the skin really stuck to the bottom of the pot and tore away from the chicken. The skin started getting all crispy and we both immediately thought that crispy skin will make a great topping and it did.

Once the chicken was cooked we removed the chicken from the pot and started our broth. Adding onion, ginger and garlic and chicken broth with some dashi seasoning. We also added a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil as well.

While the broth simmered for about 45 minutes we sauteed the broccolini and mushrooms, shredded the chicken and cooked the ramen. And soft boiled the eggs.

Now it was time to assemble the ramen. We started first plating the noodles.

Followed by the broccolini.

And then the mushrooms and chicken.

Finally the broth, eggs and toasted sesame seeds and crispy chicken skin. It was our first time actually making soft boiled eggs. I think they went a minute or two too long, next time we'll cook them a bit less. 

We can't emphasize enough how essential the crispy chicken skin became, we highly recommend using it. We also believe it was the remaining stuck skin at the bottom of the pot that really added the rich essence to the broth. 

Recipe:

Chicken Ramen with Crispy Chicken Skin

Broth:

2 Tblspns olive oil

1 lb. Bone in, skin on chicken thighs

1 white onion, chopped

Salt & pepper

3 Tblspns ginger, peeled and chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced 

4 cups chicken broth

2 Tblspns dashi powder

2 Tblspns soy sauce

2 Tblspns sesame oil

Toppings:

1/4 lb oyster mushrooms

1/4 lb shitake mushrooms

1/4 lb broccolini

4 green onions, diagonally chopped

2 eggs

2 packages ramen noodles

2 Tblspns toasted sesame seeds

Crispy chicken skin

Cook the seasoned chicken thighs in 2 tablespoons olive oil in a dutch oven. As the skin starts to cook pull the chicken away from the skin and let the skin crisp up. When chicken is cooked through remove from pot and finish crisping chicken skin. Pull out as much chicken skin as you can and drain on paper towel and season with salt. 

To pot add onion, ginger, garlic, broth, dashi, soy sauce and sesame oil. Bring to boil then lower temperature and simmer for 30-40 minutes.

While broth cooks saute' mushrooms and broccolini until down but not over cooked. Cook ramen and soft boil eggs.

To large bowls divide noodles. Top with veggies and chopped chicken. Divide broth. Top with eggs, crispy chicken skin and toasted sesame seeds. 

Turkey Hot & Sour Soup

When we ended up cooking two turkeys on Thanksgiving for only 6 people it was a given that we would need to get creative with what to do with all of the leftovers.

It happened to be a very cold weekend and one of our favorite soups on a cold day is hot & sour soup. To be honest it can be difficult to find a good hot & sour soup at any of our local Chinese restaurants. So when we came across a recipe for it in a recent Food & Wine magazine it seemed like the perfect way to put some of that leftover turkey to good use.

And with the 'hankering' for hot & sour soup came the idea to make some some quick smoked turkey spring rolls to go along. 

We didn't really have a recipe for the spring rolls they just kind of came together really. 

The soup was actually delicious. Warm, hot & sour and satisfying all the way around. We wish we would of diced the tofu slightly smaller but besides that it was excellent. 

RECIPE:

Hot & Sour Soup (From November 2015 Food & Wine)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ounce dried wood ear mushrooms (1/2 cup)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 pound lean pork shoulder, sliced 1/8 inch thick and cut into 1-by-1/4-inch strips
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions
• 4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
• 1/2 pound soft tofu, cut into 1/2 -inch dice
• 1/3 cup unseasoned rice vinegar, plus more for serving
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha, plus more for serving
• Kosher salt
• 2 large eggs, beaten

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a small bowl, cover the mushrooms with boiling water and let stand until softened, about 30 minutes. Drain and coarsely chop the mushrooms; discard the soaking water. 
 
   
2. In a large saucepan, heat the canola oil. Add the pork, garlic, ginger and scallions and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until the pork is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in the stock and add the tofu, 1/3 cup of vinegar, the soy sauce, sugar, pepper, sesame oil, mushrooms and 1 tablespoon of Sriracha. Bring the soup to a simmer and season with salt. While stirring constantly, drizzle in the eggs and cook until strands form, 1 minute. Serve hot, passing rice vinegar and Sriracha at the table
   Simple Smoked Turkey Spring Rolls12 spring roll wrappers1 Cup diced smoked turkey 1/2 Cup diced carrots1/2 Cup diced white onion1 Cup cooked thin rice noodlesCanola oil
   Lay out the spring roll wrapper flat. Place a mixture (approximately 2 tablespoons) noodles, turkey & veggies. Fold bottom corner over, fold in the two sides (as if folding an envelope), roll tightly.
   Heat canola oil to 360 degrees, fry spring rolls in small batches. Keep warm in oven until ready to serve. 
3. 
   

Tortilla Chicken Soup

When we are in Mexico I try tortilla soup in almost every restaurant we eat at just to find the very best version.

Some are great, some are okay and some are down right like dirt water. 

The best versions we've tried are flavorful and bright, not too heavy and full of this wonderful melty but still firm cheese that we are not 100% sure what the name of it is.

We've made lots of our own versions as well. But this version was pretty right on in closeness to some of our favorites tried in Mexico. The blended tortilla strips make all of the difference.

We use Panela cheese because we can find it easy here and it seems super similar to the kind we've had there. But not sure if this really is what they use.

We fill our bowls with small cubes of cheese.

Then add shredded rotisserie chicken. It works so much better when you don't actually put the chicken in the soup but rather ladle the soup broth over the shredded chicken.

It's definitely comfort in a bowl South of the Border style. Top with some chopped avocado and baked tortilla strips. (Ours burnt this night so we had to use some crumbled tortilla chips...too salty.)

RECIPE: 

1. Tortilla Chicken Soup:
2. 6 tablespoons cooking oil
3. 8 6-inch corn tortillas, halved and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips
4. 1 onion, chopped
5. 4 large cloves garlic, smashed
6. 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
7. 2 teaspoons ground cumin
8. 1 teaspoon ground coriander
9. 1 teaspoon chili powder
10. 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
11. 1 1/2 quarts canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
12. 3 cups canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree (one 28-ounce can)
13. 2 bay leaves
14. 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
15. 1/4 cup lightly-packed cilantro leaves plus 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro (optional)
16. 1/2 cup cubed Panela Cheese
17. 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken 
18. 1 avocado, cut into 1/2-inch dice
19. Lime wedges, for serving
20. Heat over to 300 degrees. Slice tortillas into into thin strips. Spread out on baking. Bake until golden & crisp (watch closely time depends on your oven.)
21. Reduce the heat to moderately low. Add the onion, garlic, and spices; cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes, bay leaves, salt, cilantro leaves, if using, and one-third of the tortilla strips. Bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes; remove the bay leaves.
22. In a blender, puree the soup in batches; pour it back into the pot. Fill individual bowls with a few tablespoons of cubed cheese and shredded chicken (eyeball it.) Ladle broth into each bowl
23. To serve, add some chopped avocado and put the remaining tortilla strips in bowls. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro, if using, and serve with the lime wedges.

Vietnamese Chicken Pho

You know that age old question, "what came first the chicken or the egg?" This post kind of reminds me of that question. Since becoming a food blogger it seems I'm always now on the look out for cool, photogenic, unusual vessels to photograph food in or with. And these bowls that I found at Crate & Barrel after Christmas came first before the soup was ever a thought. But ever since I bought them I've been on the search for a great Asian style soup to make to put them to good use. 

Actually ever since I made the chicken & shrimp wonton with lemongrass broth a few weeks ago I've kind of been on a yummy, fragrant broth craving kick. I was searching for flavorful broth to make and I came across this recipe for Vietnamese Chicken Pho Ga on Kim's Rustic Garden Bistro blog. When I saw the broth had anise and cinnamon stick I figured this was a broth worth making. 

I started making the broth and realized this was going to be at least a 2 hour commitment. Cooking the chicken in a bath of onions, garlic, anise and cinnamon brought an immediate wonderful aroma to the kitchen.

The broth cooked and cooked and became wonderful. I  pulled the chicken off the bone and then shredded it and made the noodles. 

Creating the soup was like layering a bowl of yum. I started with the cooked noodles.

Then layered on the shredded chicken, sliced onions, spinach, Thai basil and sliced green onions.

Then I ladled the broth over each bowl and topped them with some fried quail eggs and crushed red peppers. 

The pho was excellent. It sadly lacked a bit of salt. The broth tasted perfectly seasoned on it's own but I guess once poured over all of the other ingredients it kind of lost it's potency. 

It was great and the quail eggs were just a nice added treasure in the soup. 

I'm sharing the link to Kim's blog so you can check out the recipe and give it a try yourself.

Rustic Garden Bistro 

Lobster Bisque

This wonderful lobster bisque was part of our New Year's Eve big bash of a meal.

And by big bash I mean no bash at all. Now in our mid forties the whole big night out on New Year's Eve is a distant memory for us. We were trying to remember the last time we actually did go out on New Year's and as best we can both remember it was at least 5 years ago in Chicago seeing Poi Dog Pondering. That was actually a great New Year's. But both of us agree there have really been only a few great New Year's in our lives. It's typically just a bunch of hype and then some let down.

So several years ago we decided to set a standing dinner at home date for New Year's eve and we've pretty much stuck to it. A few years we've had friends over to join us but we made a pact to NEVER go out again unless there is really something worth doing. 

So to welcome 2014 we went with a lobster theme. G made this silky and luscious lobster bisque and I made our fav pot sticker recipe lobster and shitake. It was a nice evening and we actually stayed up 'til midnight and watched the ball drop. That was unusual. 

Happy New Year to You!

RECIPES:

(link to Lobster Shitake Potsticker recipe)

Lobster Bisque adapted from Fine Cooking

For the broth:

• 1 1-1/2- to 1-3/4-lb. live lobster, rinsed ( we used 2 lobster tails)
• 1-1/2 oz. (3 Tbs.) unsalted butter

For the bisque:

• 2-1/2 oz. (5 Tbs.) unsalted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1 small carrot, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1-1/8 oz. (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 2 Tbs. tomato paste
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbs. cream sherry
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Make the broth:

In an 8- to 10-quart stockpot, bring 1-1/2 inches of water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 tsp. salt and the lobster, cover, and steam until bright red and one of the smaller legs twists off easily, about 18 minutes. Remove the lobster with tongs and reserve the steaming liquid.

When the lobster is cool enough to handle, twist off the claws and the tail. Using a nutcracker, crack the knuckles and claws and push out the meat with your little finger or a pick. Set the tail on a hard surface and use your hand to press down and crack the shell; push out the meat. Slice the tail meat in half lengthwise and remove the black intestinal vein. Dice the meat from one claw and half of the tail and set aside for garnish. Coarsely chop the remaining meat. Reserve the shells.

Rinse out the tomalley (green matter) from the upper body. Split the body lengthwise and use your fingers to remove the innards. (If the lobster is female, you’ll see bright-red roe; leave it in the body for additional color and flavor.)

Use kitchen shears or a chef’s knife to break the body and reserved shells into 1- to 2-inch pieces and then use a meat mallet or a small pot to flatten them.

Measure the steaming liquid and add water to total 6 cups of liquid. Melt the butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the flattened shells and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to blister and their color intensifies, about 5 minutes. Add the liquid and 1/2 tsp. salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface.

Strain the broth through a fine sieve into a large liquid measuring cup. You should have 4 cups—if there’s more, boil until reduced to 4 cups; if there’s less, add water.

Make the bisque:

Clean and dry the saucepan and melt the butter in the pan over low heat. Add the onion, carrot, and garlic and cook until softened, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring, until golden and bubbly, about 2 minutes.

Add the wine, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaf; bring to a boil, and cook, stirring, until the liquid is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Add the lobster broth and cook uncovered over medium heat until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped lobster meat and simmer for 2 minutes to heat. Remove the bay leaf.

In a blender, purée the mixture in batches until smooth. Strain through a medium-mesh sieve back into the pot, pushing on the solids with a wooden spoon.

Stir in the cream and sherry, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook the bisque over low heat until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

Serve the bisque garnished with the diced lobster meat.

Tomato-Chipotle Soup

I think we should prepare you that we are in soup kind of mood lately. It seems like at least once or twice a week we're thinking "soup sounds good." Hopefully we can change it up a bit this month and not overly bore you (or us) with soup after soup but here is fair warning....soup is on in January.

This is a recipe that screamed for us to make it given it's a chipotle soup. It had a fresh flavor, not too spicy and it gave us an excuse to use to use our handheld blender that we never use. Actually next time we will definitely double the chipotles that the recipe calls for.

RECIPE:

Tomato-Chipotle Soup adapted from Cuisine at Home October 2013

4 Tbsp. butter

2 Cups chopped onions

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

2 Tbsp. minced chipotle in adobo sauce

1 Tbsp. adobo sauce (from canned chipotles)

2 Tbsp. all purpose flour

2 Cups chicken broth

2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes ( 28 oz. each)

Salt & Pepper

Garnish with: cilantro, tortilla chips, sour cream, guacamole

Melt butter in dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and cook 3 minutes. Stir in garlic, chipotles, add adobo sauce. Cook 1-2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium -low and simmer soup 30 minutes. Remove soup from heat and puree with a blender until smooth. Add salt & pepper.

Stir in chopped cilantro. Garnish each serving with tortilla chips, sour cream or guacamole

Chicken and Shrimp Wonton Soup with Lemongrass Broth

Okay, get ready this is the best soup we made all year I'm pretty certain. And I don't mean the only few days of 2014 so far but of all of 2013. 

Yes, it took many steps and some time but the flavor of this lemongrass broth and the delicateness of the homemade chicken and shrimp wontons was absolutely PERFECT! I mean really perfect. It was sooooooo good. We ate it for lunch and dinner (4 meals) two days in a row. That rarely happens. If I had it for lunch usually I don't want it also for dinner but this soup was so amazing it was a no brainer. We ate as much as we could until it was gone.

Actually just writing about it makes me want to make it again as soon as I can. 

A trick I'll share that I've finally learned when making a wonton or noodle soup like this is to cook your wontons or noodles in the broth. But then remove them from the broth. Serve the amount of wontons you want in each bowl then top with the broth. Don't store the wontons in the broth if you have some left over in fridge. The broth will just get soaked up. 

RECIPE:

Chicken & Shrimp Wonton Soup with Lemongrass Broth adapted from Food & Wine

1. Broth:
2. 1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil
3. 1 pound chicken breasts on the bone, skin discarded
4. 1/2 pound spareribs or baby back ribs, cut into single ribs
5. 8 green cardamom pods
6. 3 black cardamom pods (optional; see Note)
7. 1/2 tablespoon black peppercorns
8. 1/2 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorns (see Note)
9. 2 whole star anise pods
10. 10 cups water
11. 1 fresh lemongrass stalk, tender white inner bulb only, chopped
12. One 1 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thickly sliced
13. 3 cilantro sprigs
14. 2 scallions, halved
15. 3 tablespoons soy sauce

WONTONS:

1. 3 ounces shelled and deveined shrimp, minced
2. 2 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, minced
3. 2 garlic cloves, minced
4. 2 tablespoons minced shallot
5. 1 tablespoon soy sauce
6. 1 tablespoon honey
7. 1/2 teaspoon toasted Asian sesame oil, plus 1 tablespoon for garnish
8. 1 red Thai chile, seeded and minced
9. 1 teaspoon minced cilantro, plus 1 tablespoon small leaves, for garnish
10. Pinch of fine sea salt
11. 12 square wonton wrappers
12. 1 scallion, light green and white parts only, thinly sliced, for garnish

1. MAKE THE BROTH In a pot, heat the oil. Add the chicken and spareribs and cook over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until lightly browned, 5 minutes. Add the cardamom pods, peppercorns and star anise and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add all of the remaining broth ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderately low heat, skimming off the fat, until the broth is reduced to 6 cups and very fragrant, 40 minutes. Strain the broth through a cheesecloth-lined sieve into a large saucepan; skim off any fat.
2. MAKE THE WONTONS In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the wrappers and garnishes. Arrange 4 wrappers on a surface; keep the remaining ones covered with a damp paper towel. Brush the wrapper edges with water. Place 2 teaspoons of the filling in the center of each wrapper. Bring all 4 corners of each wrapper together and twist the top gently to form into purses. Press the edges to seal. Transfer the wontons to a plate. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling; cover with plastic wrap.
3. Bring the strained broth to a boil. Add the wontons and simmer over moderate heat until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Spoon the wontons into bowls and ladle the broth over. Garnish the soup with the sesame oil, cilantro leaves and sliced scallion and serve.

MAKE AHEAD The wontons can be refrigerated for 8 hours. The broth can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for 1 month.