Chicken Tortilla Soup

I first tasted this delicious soup in Georgetown, Texas, while visiting my cousins. It is, to me, a perfect soup – chewy from all the vegetables, tangy from the lime, creamy from the cheese, filling and comforting that needy stomach-hole with shredded chicken, and crunchy from the tortilla chips. This soup would go well with a salad or perhaps quesadillas. My cousins consider this soup to be Tex-Mex, but it is originally a Mexican soup that is easily found in Mexico City. The simplified cooking process and a few ingredients more readily available in the United States transform this dish into something Tex-Mex.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 3 large cloves garlic minced
• 1 -2 jalapeños diced and seeded, or 1/8 tsp. chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon  chili powder (the kind you use for chili con carne)
• 14.5 oz crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 14.5 oz can black beans rinsed & drained
• 1 cup frozen or canned corn, drained if canned
• 2 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
• 1 lime juiced
• 1 avocado sliced
• 1 cup grated cheese, such as cheddar or colby jack

Crispy Tortilla Strips

• 6 6- inch corn tortillas cut into 1/4-inch strips.  If you can’t get them, use corn tortilla chips, broken up, and omit the olive oil and salt. 
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt

Instructions

1. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high heat a small pan. Add tortilla strips in small batches and fry until crisp. Drain and salt.
2. Heat olive oil In a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and jalapeños and cook until onion is softened.
3. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
4. Remove chicken and shred. Add back to the pot and simmer for 3 minutes.
5. Spoon soup into bowls and and top with tortilla strips, lime wedges, grated cheese and sliced avocado.