DanO - 2-23-2009 at 05:39 PM
The albondigas thread got me thinking about a great recipe I ran across awhile ago for this simple but satisfying soup. You make your own very light
stock by simmering the chicken breasts in water. The amount of chipotles to include varies in direct proportion to your manliness (or in inverse
proportion to your girliemanliness), and keep in mind that the longer the chipotles steep (like if you leave some of the soup for the next day) the
hotter the soup gets. I adapted the recipe to include a little queso fresco, like a similar soup I had in a local Oaxacan restaurant last year.
Serves 4 to 6.
Ingredients:
1 white onion, quartered
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh or a pinch of dried epazote
6 cups water
2 large skinless chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs)
2 (more or less) chipotle chiles en adobo, rinsed, seeded and chopped
1 14 ounce can chickpeas (or more if you like them)
1 large avocado, cubed
6 ounces queso fresco, cubed
Handful of chopped cilantro (unless you're Matteo)
Preparation:
Add the onions, bay leaf and epazote to the water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the chicken breasts and simmer partially covered for 15
minutes. Remove the chicken and set it aside. Strain the broth, add the chiles and chickpeas and bring back to a boil, then simmer partially covered
for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, after the chicken has cooled down enough to handle, shred it. When the broth is done, season to taste with salt, strain
out the chickpeas with a slotted spoon and divide them evenly among the serving bowls. Top with the chicken, avocado, queso fresco and cilantro.
Ladle the broth over the soup ingredients and serve.
BajaNuts - 2-23-2009 at 11:10 PM
epazote....
it sound's interesting......I'll see if it turns up locally in our very NOB market.
Hubby doesn't even like cilantro, will have to be careful with the epazote when I find some....
Bajahowodd - 2-24-2009 at 12:14 AM
For folks not residing in Baja, or the immediate Southwest, epizote may not be easy to find. Corriander with cilantro may be a suitable substitute.
Loved the recipe, DanO. I'm thinking about using low sodium chicken broth, and cooking the chicken outside the soup. either way, I am going to try it.
Mexitron - 2-24-2009 at 05:06 AM
Epazote is easy to grow--close relative of the weed Lamb's Quarters. Lots of seed sources, here's one:
http://www.territorialseed.com/product/862/4
If you have any Mexicano friends with a yard they'll likely have some for free...