Grilled Chicken Tortilla Soup with Tequila Crema

Grilled Chicken Tortilla Soup with Tequila Crema, the name of the dish alone was enough to make me buy the cookbook, but after reading the list of ingredients, I knew what I would be having for dinner last night.  I picked up Guy Fieri's new cookbook "Guy Fieri Food" in Pebble Beach last weekend and as soon as I got home I book marked a couple of recipes, including this one.

I feel like I've been running all week and getting nowhere, so I decided to tweak Guy's dish a bit and make it easier for a weeknight, while still preserving all the yummy flavors he had in the dish.

My version:

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Guy called for marinating the chicken for 6-8 hours, I love marinating meat, I just usually need a little more lead time than I had on this night.  

Instead I rubbed the breasts with the canola oil and sprinkled the seasonings all over until the breasts were well coated.  Heat up your grill or a grill pan and cook the chicken until fully cooked. Also you will be grilling a jalapeno at the same time until charred.  Once the chicken is cool, shred the meat and set aside.  Peel the pepper and remove the seeds, chop and set aside.

Soup Base:

1 jalapeno

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 yellow onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon chili powder (I added 1 tablespoon to add a little more flavor)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 quarts chicken stock

One 14.5 ounce can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes

Juice of 1 lime

1 corn tortilla, cut into 1/4 inch strips

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and pour in the vegetable oil.  Once hot, add the onion and cook until it just starts to brown, 5 to 7 minutes.  Add the garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, cumin and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring 3 to 4 minutes, taking care not to burn the mixture.

Add some of the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bits for the bottom of the pan.  Add the remaining chicken stock, tomatoes, lime juice, and strips from the 1 tortilla.  Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.  Taste and adjust the seasoning.

For Serving:

2 cups vegetable oil, for frying

8 corn tortillas, cut into 1/4 inch wide strips

1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

Pinch chili powder

3/4 cup sour cream 1 ounce tequila

Grated zest of 1 lime

1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1 Hass avocado, pitted, peeled and diced

1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

Lime wedges, for garnish

When you're ready to serve, heat the vegetable oil in a deep skillet to 350 degrees F.  Add the tortilla strips in batches and fry until golden brown.  Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate and season with the teaspoon of salt and a pinch of chili powder.

Combine the sour cream, tequila, and lime zest in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper.

To serve, put some of the shredded chicken in the bottom of each bowl and pour in the hot soup base.  Top with diced avocado, fried tortilla strips, the tequila crema, and cilantro.  Garnish with lime wedges and serve.

Serves 4-6

My notes:

Overall I thought the flavor of this soup was outstanding, I don't know how much more marinating the chicken will add, but I will try it again at a later date.  The tequila crema was really good, matter of fact I think my crema in the above photo is smiling at me.  Plus the recipe gets an extra bonus for the fact the whole family ate it without complaints, minus the tequila crema for my daughter.

Enjoy,

Gina