Bob’s Chicken Soup Summer 2013

A quick southwestern-style chicken soup for a simple summer supper…

Oil

1 green chili (Anaheim-type mild)

4 chicken thighs

¼ of a med sweet onion, sliced

2 cans chicken broth

Shredded cabbage

Sliced celery

3 or 4 green onions

1 can Mexican-style cut tomatoes (or Rotel if you like those; they’re spicier)

1 can Niblets-type corn, drained

1 garlic clove

¼ to ½ cup rice

Garlic powder, salt, pepper, chili powder, other seasonings as desired.

3 or 4 corn tortillas, cut into short strips

Shredded cheese (opt)

Sour cream (opt)

The best thing to do is to char the green chile on the grill in the normal fashion and sweat it, peel it, remove the seeds and chop it (this is the best flavor).  In a pinch, cut it up and de-seed it, place it in a pan with a little hot oil… and fry it with about ½ to ¾ cup shredded cabbage, the green onions and the celery (which you’ve sliced thin).  Add your seasonings to this mixture as you sauté it just long enough that it is about tender.  Set this aside.

Meanwhile, heat a couple of TB of oil in a soup pot, add the 1/4 sliced onion, the whole garlic clove in halves and the chicken thighs.  Brown them on both sides, then add the broth.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 30 or 40 minutes.  Remove the chicken pieces, set aside to cool.  Add the rice to this at the right time for the rice you are using – I use 20-minute rice so I added it when there was 20 or 30 minutes left on the total cooking time.  Before adding the rice, I fish out the onion and garlic I used while simmering the chicken and toss it out.

 

After removing the chicken, I add the lightly-sautéed vegetables, the corn and the tomatoes.  Pull the chicken, tossing the skin.  Add the pulled chicken to the pot.  Add more seasonings as desired.  I used about 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp or two of chili powder, 1 tsp of garlic powder, some chopped parsley. You could add red pepper or a jalapeno for heat if you want it, and maybe some cilantro if you wish.  Heat the soup through and then leave on very low heat for about 20 or 30 minutes.

 

Just before serving, heat some oil in a heavy skillet, and when it is sizzling hot, add the tortilla strips.  Fry until they are starting to brown a little – then drain on paper towel.  You don’t want to do them too soon, or they’ll get soggy while resting.  Do this JUST before serving.

If using cheese, jack would be good.   Spoon shredded cheese into bottom of each serving bowl. Ladle the hot soup onto the cheese and top with crispy corn tortilla strips.  I think a dollop of sour cream would also be good.

Instead of adding the cheese to the soup, I served this with no cheese but had a grilled cheese sandwich on the side.


[Note: If you have the time to cook your soup longer and slower, then you can also create your own broth by using water instead of canned broth, and adjusting the cooking method for a longer process.  Much healthier, less salt!]