avacado

Can you believe it is February 2nd today? According to Punxsutawney Phil, there’s 6 more weeks of soup weather ahead of us!

January was a total blur for me. I got that ridiculous virus (flu). I really hope you have escaped it, and if you catch it, do take it seriously. I started hacking on Boxing Day; coughing so hard and uncontrollably I could not catch my breath at times. (Before you ask, YES I GOT A FLU SHOT!) I saw the Dr. on the 27th of December and was given steroids, antivirals, and inhalers. If you know me at all, you know I will do anything to avoid taking Prednisone. This time, I did not even consider putting up a fight! I would have done anything to STOP the coughing! When there were clear signs of infection a week later, I was put on antibiotics. I ran fevers of about 100′ off and on for three weeks. It was just last week that I honestly believed I would make it to Valentines Day! I’m surprised our food delivery folks haven’t called to see why the Hot and Sour soup orders have stopped! Anyway, with my absence explained, and all the crap I ordered on-line while sick; returned, I’m here to share this recipe with you!

We love chicken tortilla soup! So flavorful and satisfying. I always have a whole chicken in the freezer, and roasted tomatoes in the pantry. Onions, avocados, tortillas, and cilantro are usually restocked weekly. I discovered a frozen southwest veggie mix a couple summers ago. It is the perfect add-in to this soup. This frozen veggie combo also makes a great cold salad with a lime, cumin, cilantro vinaigrette. This veggie mix has become a staple in the freezer as well. This post is not sponsored…I’m sharing this “short cut” with you ’cause that’s what I’m all about.

For the soup

Place one whole chicken* (extra fat, skin and giblets removed), in a large stock pot.

cover the chicken with 3 quarts of fresh, cold water
season with salt and pepper

Simmer about two hours, over low heat, until chicken is done – no pink in the thighs.

Remove chicken from pot. Strain the broth into a large bowl and set aside.

Pull the chicken off the bones, removing the skin, breaking the meat into bite size pieces. Set aside.

*You could use rotisserie chicken and three quarts of chicken stock, if your prefer to not cook a whole chicken. Just start with the steps below.

1 large or 2 small jalapeno peppers, minced

1 large, sweet onion, diced

4 T. olive oil

Sauté the onion and pepper in the olive oil over medium heat in your stock pot, about 5 minutes, until tender.

Add:

1 large can diced, fire roasted tomatoes
2 T ground cumin
1 T chili powder
Salt, pepper
2 bags of southwestern style frozen vegetables

Pour the reserved stock back into the stock pot. Taste for Seasoning. Simmer about 30 minutes.

15 minutes before serving, add the reserved chicken meat to the pot. Simmer gently to warm the meat through. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

While the soup is heating, prepare the garnishes:

Cut 4-5 corn tortillas into strips. Add 4 T of oil to a sauté pan and cook them until lightly brown and crisp. Cool on a paper towel to remove any excess oil.

1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

1 bunch of green onions, sliced

2-3 avocado’s diced

lime wedges – 1 per serving

grated cheese, for serving

sour cream for serving

When ready to serve, ladle soup into a serving bowl bowl. Top with tortilla strips, shredded cheese, avocado, cilantro, onion and sour cream. Add a lime wedge on the side.. This soup is fantastic leftover and also freezes well.

Make it soon, you won’t regret it!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful evening.

Laura

Dave and I spent a few hours at the Pantry at Delancey on Sunday afternoon, “sharpening” our knife skills. The class was taught by Chef Mataio Gillis from Ciao Thyme. After Chef Gillis inspected, sharpened and honed everyone’s knife, we reviewed types of knives and their function, proper knife care and body mechanics. My intentions for signing up for the class, were not entirely honorable. I wanted Dave to be more comfortable with slicing and dicing, so I do not end up doing all the “prep” work when we cook together. Even though I am pretty efficient with a knife, I definitely learned some new tricks! We practiced brunoise, fine brunoise, small, medium, and large dice, julienne, allumette and batonnet cuts on potatoes, carrots and celery. As for Dave, he is now in charge of all mirepoix prep and knife care!

The Pico De Gallo was the result of 15 students chopping tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic and cilantro. As with all classes at The Pantry, we ended with a meal of Pico De Gallo, chips, guacamole and a cold beer! Since I had a beautiful filet of fresh Alaskan halibut on hand for dinner, I decided to take my portion home and serve it with the fish! I served an avocado and radish salad with a cumin – lime vinaigrette alongside the halibut. Just like the class and the beautiful spring day, the meal was fabulous!

For the Avocado and Radish Salad with Cumin and Lime Vinaigrette

For the dressing

1/3 cup of fresh squeezed lime juice

2/3 cup very light olive oil

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon honey or agave

salt and pepper to taste

For the salad

mixed lettuce of your choice – I used butter lettuce and watercress, torn into bite size pieces

about 1 Tablespoon coarsely chopped cilantro per serving

1/2 large dice avocado per serving

2-3 thinly sliced radishes, per serving

for the garnish – finely diced radish and lime zest

Toss the lettuce and radishes together. Add the dressing and toss again. Gently fold in the avocado. Garnish with the lime zest and diced radish

I don’t have permission to share the Pico De Gallo recipe we made in class. Just make your favorite! Also, when grilling a flaky fish like halibut, it is extremely important that your grill is very hot and very well oiled! It takes just a few minutes on each side for perfectly cooked fish.

Quick and Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Grilled Halibut with Pico De Gallo and Avocado Salad