Nourishing Chicken Tortilla Soup

A nostalgic, hearty soup to serve a houseful

Good morning and happy Monday to you, friend. The days have been full the past couple weeks, and I apologize for being late on getting last week’s recipe out. We have had basketball games, holiday get togethers, and to top it all off, a new puppy in the house! It was not planned, but the opportunity presented itself and she has been such a good fit for our home. Our Mabel girl is so happy to have a playmate in the house. I mean, just look at this face.

As one does this time of year, I have been reminiscing of Christmases past and savoring every nostalgic photo and video clip that my mom texts to the family group chat. One particular Christmas, we hosted my mom’s entire family, which consisted of her five siblings and their spouses, my grandparents, and ALL the cousins (there are 27 of us.) I remember helping set up the food for the day. We made a huge pot of chicken tortilla soup for everyone with all the toppings: a serving bowl of crispy tortillas, shredded cheese, and fresh avocado slices.

Thirty years later, this soup has been adapted and adjusted, ingredients being added or swapped out. My favorite way to make it is by adding a butternut squash to the broth, to make it extra rich and nourishing. If you’re short on time, you can use a rotisserie chicken and pre-made broth.

May you have a blessed week with your people - and make sure to scroll to the end of this email for more soup recipe inspiration.

Nourishing Chicken Tortilla Soup

TOOLS

• Soup pot or dutch oven - you can use the Vitaclay for this recipe as well

• Knife

• Cutting Board

• Cookie Sheet

• Parchment paper

• Bowls for toppings

INGREDIENTS

• 1 whole chicken

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 butternut squash, cut in half and seeds scooped out

• 1 large onion, diced

• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 jalapeno, diced

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp chili powder

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1 can diced green chilis

• Optional: frozen or canned beans and corn

• salt and pepper to taste

Toppings

• Tortillas - flour or corn

• Sliced Avocado

• Shredded Mozzarella or Monterey Jack / Pepper Jack cheese

• Lime wedges

• Sour cream or creme fraiche

METHOD

1. Roast Squash. Preheat oven to 400º and lay butternut squash, flesh side down on parchment lined baking sheet and roast for 30-40 minutes, or until soft when pricked with a fork. Let cool and remove the skin. It should peel off easily.

2. Cook Chicken + Make Broth. While squash is roasting, add the chicken to a stockpot or Vitaclay and cover with water. Bring to a boil, skim off foam, add 2 bay leaves and simmer for 3-4 hours, covered, on low heat.

3. Saute veggies + spices. Over medium low heat, in a cast iron skillet, saute´ diced onion in 3 Tbsp ghee or tallow and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add jalapeno and minced garlic and cook until all are soft. Add cumin, chili powder, and oregano and let saute for a minute or two, until fragrant. Set aside.

4. Shred Chicken. After 3-4 hours of simmering, remove the chicken from the pot and set it in a large bowl until it’s cool enough to shred from the bones. Discard carcass and set shredded meat aside.

5. Puree squash + veggies into the broth. Strain the bay leaves out of the broth and add cooked, peeled butternut squash and sauteed veggies to the stockpot or Vitaclay. Use an immersion blender to puree. If you want a more hearty, chunky soup, you can puree the butternut in a blender with a cup or two of the broth, then add back to the pot along with the sautéed veggies.

6. Add chicken to the broth. Add the shredded chicken to the pot of broth and season to taste with salt and pepper. Let simmer on low until ready to serve.

7. Toast Tortillas. Slice tortillas into 1” squares and lay on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for a few minutes at 400º, watching carefully so they don’t burn. Once crispy and brown, remove from the oven and transfer to a large bowl.

8. Prepare Toppings. Slice avocado and shred cheese and add both to bowls. Slice lime into wedges and place in a bowl or on a small plate. Chop cilantro and add to a bowl.

9. Serve soup. Add crispy tortillas, cheese, and avocado to the bottom of the bowl, then ladle soup over the top. Add cilantro on top and squeeze a lime wedge into each bowl.

Nourishing Chicken Tortilla Soup

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I hope you and yours have a wonderful Christmas week! Keep your eye out for an email later in the week as I’ll be sharing the date and time for my live fresh milled sourdough class. It will be available to paid subscribers in January and the video will be saved for those who can’t watch live.

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If you have guests in town this week, soup is always my go-to when feeding a houseful. Consider these recipes: