Latin American Chicken Soup with Greens
MAKES 6 SERVINGS • PREP TIME: 15 minutes • COOK TIME: 20 minutes
There’s a misconception in Mexican cooking that the only greens used are herbs, such as cilantro. In fact, greens gathering and consumption in Mexico goes back centuries. Swiss chard is a hugely popular Mexican green, and it’s the base green in this soup. This is like tortilla soup without the tortilla. It’s refreshing and invigorating, and after eating it, you’ll never look at Mexican food quite the same way ever again.
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced small
Sea salt
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 small jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced (about 2 teaspoons)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
6 cups Old-Fashioned Chicken Stock , Magic Mineral Broth or store-bought broth
½ bunch Swiss chard, removed from the stem and thinly sliced (about 1 cup tightly packed)
1 cup thinly sliced cooked chicken
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
½ avocado, pitted and diced, for garnish
Polenta Croutons, for garnish
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat, then add the onion, ¼ teaspoon salt, the carrots, celery, and jalapeños. Sauté the vegetables until they begin to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cumin, and oregano. Add the tomatoes with their juice, ¼ teaspoon salt, and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the chard and cook until it’s just tender, about 1 more minute. Add the lime juice, ½ teaspoon salt, and chicken to the simmering soup. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each with cilantro and avocado; or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
cook note: If you don’t have leftover chicken on hand, you can quickly poach two skinless boneless breasts. This method produces a delicate flavor by infusing the flavor of the liquid into the food. Season the breasts with salt and pepper. In a straight-sided skillet, bring 3 cups of stock to a boil over high heat. Add the chicken breasts, cover and reduce the heat to low. The liquid should be just below the boiling point, with its surface barely quivering. Cook for 15 minutes, remove from the poaching liquid and allow to cool. Then slice the chicken and add to your soup.
Reprinted with permission from Clean Soups Copyright © 2016 by Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson, Ten Speed Press, a division of the Crown Publishing Group, Berkeley, CA.