Chicken Chipotle Soup

If the recent winter cold spell has you craving heat - this recipe brings it! Canned chipotle peppers and the adobe sauce included with them are ingredients in this spicy recipe. Adjust the chipotles and adobe to your liking.

It serves well with sour cream or plain yogurt, sliced avocado, lime wedges, pickled onions, crumbled queso fresco or shredded Jack or Pepper Jack cheese, and tortilla chips.

This soup is a great addition to your Tex-Mex repertoire and is warming on a cold day.

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 lbs Chicken Thighs – skin on, bone in

2 White onions, chopped

6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste

3 Tbsp canned chipotle chilis plus 1/3 cup adobe sauce

2 bay leaves – fresh is best, dried work too

1 tsp ground cumin

1 14oz can crushed tomatoes

8 C water

DIRECTIONS

·      Heat olive oil in soup pot

·      Add chicken thighs. Cook turning once or twice until nearly the meat is nearly cooked through

·      Remove chicken thighs from pot, leaving oil and the leavings in the pot (remove any larger bits of skin that might be stuck to the bottom)

·      Add onions, garlic and salt to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally until onions start to brown around the edges – about 4 or 5 minutes

·      Meanwhile, remove skin from meat, and meat from the bone.

·      Once onions have browned, stir in chilis and adobe sauce, bay leaves, and cumin. Cook, stirring constantly until chilis are fragrant and well-combined.

·      Stir in tomatoes. Cook until liquid is slightly reduced.

·      Add water and chicken meat to the pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until flavors are blended – 15 – 20 minutes

SERVE WITH

Dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt, Sliced avocado, lime wedges, pickled onions, crumbled queso fresco or Monterrey Jack (or Pepper Jack for even more spice) , and tortilla chips for serving