The beauty of Mexican Chicken Soup -much like my beloved Pho- shines in the melt-in-your-mouth tender vegetables and chicken falling apart in flavourful, hot broth, and the fresh crunch and vibrant flavours of the herb and jalapeno garnishes. It manages to be hot and comforting and fresh and WOW all at the same time. Inspired by Caldo de Pollo by Liz of the Lemon Bowl..
Ingredients
For the Broth:
1largewhole roasting chicken, giblets removed
3large carrotsscrubbed and trimmed
2large onionspeeled and halved
10clovesof garlicpeeled but left whole
3fresh jalapeno peppersscrubbed and pierced several times with a knife
2stems of cilantro
2tablespoonscider vinegar
Optional but tasty: 2 dried chile peppersguajillo or ancho, preferably, wiped clean with a damp cloth
For the Soup:
1batch of the brothstrained of the solids
3Yukon gold potatoesscrubbed and diced into 1/4-inch cubes
2or 3 carrotsscrubbed and diced into 1/4-inch cubes
2teaspoonskosher salt
meat from the chicken that simmered in the broth
additional kosher salt to taste
For the Garnish:
1large sweet onion or mild white onionpeeled and diced into 1/8 to 1/4-inch cubes
3limesseparated: 2 juiced and one sliced into wedges
1/2teaspoonkosher salt
1handful cilantro leavescoarsely chopped
1fresh jalapenoscrubbed and thinly sliced into rounds
1ripe avocadohalved, pitted, and cubed
Instructions
To Make the Broth:
Add all of the broth ingredients to a large stockpot, countertop roaster oven, or slow-cooker. Cover by 1-inch of water. Cook over a low heat for 8 hours, or until the chicken is so tender it falls apart easily. Use a slotted spoon and tongs to fish out all of the solids and put them in a bowl. Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve or a cheesecloth lined colander. Let the broth rest in a pitcher or bowl in an ice bath long enough for the fat to separate. At that point, you can skim off the fat and proceed to making the soup, or cover the broth and refrigerate overnight, making the fat solidify for easier removal. Discard the vegetables that simmered in the stock and reserve the chicken.
To Make the Soup:
Add the broth, diced potatoes and carrots, and salt to a large stockpot or soup pan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer until the potatoes and carrots are tender, about 20 minutes. While the vegetables simmer, pull the broth chicken from the bones, discarding the skin and bones. Shred or chop the chicken into bite sized pieces and add it to the broth to heat through. Taste the mixture all together and add more salt to taste. I often add another 2 teaspoons.
To Make the Cilantro Onion Garnish:
Toss the juice of two limes and the teaspoon of kosher salt with the chopped onion. Let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, then toss in the chopped cilantro leaves.
To Serve the Soup:
Ladle the finished soup into individual serving bowls. Pass the garnishes at the table. We serve each bowl with a scoop of the Cilantro Onion Garnish, two or three jalapeno rings, a lime wedge, and a few cubes of avocado.
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.