Chicken Tortilla Soup

Makes 4 - 6 Generous Portions
Ingredients:

• 1 whole cut up chicken, or equivalent. Bone in yields a richer, tastier broth.

• 1 medium onion

• 4 cloves garlic

• 3 medium tomatoes, cut in half

• 6 tomatillos (if not available, use 3 more tomatoes)

• 2 bunches cilantro (1/2 a bunch is for the garnish)

• 1 Jalapeño - optional

• 4 corn tortillas

• Chicken boullion, cubes, powder or paste

Garnishes:

• 2 dried chiles, seeds removed (pasilla or guajillo are usually easy to find packaged in the produce section of the market). Slice them into thin strips.

• 4 oz. queso fresco or feta, crumbled

• 2 limes, cut into quarters

• 1 to 2 avocados sliced

• 2 radishes thinly sliced

• 10 to 12 corn tortillas to make chips - cut into strips - about 2 tortillas per person

• 1/2 of the cilantro bunch (from the 2 bunches) stems removed and chopped
  
  Preparation:
  - Boil the chicken in a large pot. Chicken should be just covered with water. If you overfill it, the broth will be too watery. Add salt and pepper. Cook on medium/high heat or a robust simmer, partially covered, for at least an hour. The chicken should be falling off the bone and the broth should be reduced to half its original volume. After the chicken is done, Remove the chicken from the broth.

  - Remove the chicken meat from the bones, shred and discard any excess fat or skin. Put aside.
   
  - Roast the tomatoes, tomatillos, onion and garlic in the oven at 400 degrees until veggies take on a good char. About 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and blend the veggies with 1 bunch of cilantro with stems, and 1 seeded jalapeno chile if using.
  

  - Add blended vegetables to the chicken broth. If you want a really smooth soup, you can blend all the broth with the veggies.

  Tip: An immersion blender versus the stand-up blender is a pro choice for this step. But, I have forgotten to do this, and really enjoyed the texture of the soup.

  - After blended, add shredded chicken back into the pot and continue cooking until the tomato mixture and broth are cooked through and thickened. If it seems too thick, you can add a little chicken broth or water. If it's too thin, let it cook and reduce some more. The color will deepen as the tomatoes and cilantro are cooked. Taste for seasoning. At this point you would add the bouillon cube or teaspoon of chicken base and it will boost the flavor. Taste and adjust the seasoning again after adding the bouillon.
  
  Simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes.
  
  While the soup is simmering away, prepare the garnishes and the tortilla strips. I usually use 2 tortillas per person, but more is always a good thing, even if just for munching. Cut the corn tortillas into strips and deep fry in hot oil. The chips will continue to darken after they are removed from the oil, so remove them when they are just turning a light golden color. This should take about 2 minutes per batch. Depending on how big your frying skillet is, it might take 2 to 3 batches to fry up all of the chips.
  
  You can either top the soup with all the garnishes or serve them on the side and let everyone garnish their own. Feel free to embellish the garnish choices.
  

  ENJOY!