[exceptional-citing quoted=”rachel” template=”bubble-gray” date=”” ]March 2014 Update: This recipe was one of the first I posted on my site … wayyyyyy back in 2010. While good, I created it when I was really just starting to learn the art of cooking and the science behind recipe development. For the past few months, I have been reworking this old favorite, streamlining the dish, coaxing even more flavor out of these simple ingredients, and rewriting the directions so that they are clearer. And, I have a new picture for this soup. That old one? Yeah, it was baaaaaad. The recipe below reflects all of the yummy changes. I hope you enjoy![/exceptional-citing]
Ok — I’m pretty dang proud of myself over this soup.
Is it revolutionary? Something that will knock the culinary world on its head?
Um . . .no. It’s pretty much just a chicken veggie soup.
But it’s soooooo good and totally makes you feel like you’re eating Tortilla Soup (minus the carby, processed tortilla chips). The secret lies in using very lightly cooked broccoli slaw to replace the crunchy tortilla chips.
Even Hubby (who is not a soup fan) and the kidlets raved about it. Well, Mr. Boy didn’t rave . . .per se. But, in his own little “9-month-old-ese,” he shouted his praise and I know, if he had all of his fine motor skills down, he would have given it two thumbs up.
It. Is. Good.
- 4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless thighs will also work)
- 6 cups water
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ½ cup roughly chopped carrots
- 1 stalk celery with leaves, cut into a few pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 large red bell pepper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 4 oz cans diced green chiles
- 1 14.5 can diced fire-roasted tomatoes (do not drain)
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon ground ancho chili pepper
- salt to taste
- 1-12 oz bag of broccoli slaw
- Put the raw chicken, water, onion powder, salt, cracked black pepper, chopped carrots and celery stalk into a 4-quart stock pot. Bring to a boil of high heat until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove from heat. Take the cooked chicken out and set aside. Discard the carrots and celery. Strain the broth through a fine sieve and reserve the strained broth (should be roughly 4 cups of broth)
- In the empty stock pot, heat the tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and diced red bell pepper, sautéing until the onions are soft.
- While the onions and pepper are cooking, shred the reserved cooked chicken.
- Add the minced garlic cloves to the stock pot and cook just until fragrant.
- Add the diced green chiles and the fire-roasted tomatoes, stirring to mix with the sautéed aromatics.
- Pour in the reserved (and strained) broth. Season with the ground white pepper, cumin, ancho chili pepper, and salt. Return the shredded chicken to the pot.
- Cook an additional 5-7 minutes or until the soup is at a strong simmer (but not boiling) and then add the entire contents of the broccoli slaw. Allow it to cook in the broth until it reaches a bright green flavor (2-4 minutes). DO NOT cook it to the point of becoming soft. It needs to stay crunchy!
- Remove from heat and serve, garnishing with cheese, sour cream, and avocado if desired.
