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Friday, October 17, 2014

Yucatan Lime Soup

Ahhh...it's finally Friday!  After a long work week, we have the perfect quick and easy soup for you to make this weekend.  For day 17 of Soup Month 2014 we made our own version of Yucatan Lime Soup also known as Sopa de Lima.

There are many versions of this soup, some of which call for allspice berries or 20 cloves of garlic or banana chilies, but we wanted to keep this soup simple.  We wanted this to be a standby recipe that can be made on any weeknight, without needing a lot of special ingredients, and I think we came up with the perfect recipe.


I'm always a fan of making a big roast chicken (about 5 or 5-1/2 pounds) for Sunday dinner, knowing I will have enough chicken left over for an easy weeknight meal.  Sometimes we use the leftover chicken to make Baked Chicken Chimichangas or Chicken Fajitas, and this recipe will surely be added to the list of options for those leftovers.

After a quick saute for the vegetables, the chicken and broth are added to the soup along with crushed tomatoes, a bit of spicy salsa and lots of lime juice.  This is a soup that you really want to be able to taste the lime juice, but you can adjust this up or down according to your own preferences.  We used 5 tablespoons of lime juice and everyone agreed the flavor was great.  I might have liked just 1 more tablespoon to increase the citrus, but I love lime!

The crunchy corn tortilla strips that are sprinkled on top of the soup only take a few minutes to prepare, but they are worth the extra bit of work.  They add a nice crunch to the soup and, if you sprinkle them with just a dusting of salt, this will add to the flavor of the soup, too.  Enjoy!!

2 TB  Canola Oil
1 small  White Onion, chopped
1 TB  Minced Garlic
2 or 3  Serrano Chilies, finely minced
1/2 tsp  Ground Black Pepper
1/2 tsp  Salt
1 TB  Lime Juice
3 cups  Cooked Chicken, chopped (leftover chicken works great)
5 cups  Chicken Broth
1 cup  Crushed Tomatoes
1/2 cup  Hot Chunky Salsa (we used Pace)
4 to 6 TB  Lime Juice (to taste)
Limes, cut into wedges for Garnish
6  Corn Tortillas, cut into thin strips, fried and drained on paper towels **

In a medium soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion, garlic, chilies, pepper, salt and 1 tablespoon of lime juice.  Stir to combine and saute until the onion is translucent.

Add the chicken, broth, tomatoes and salsa to the pot and stir.  Simmer over medium heat for 20  minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add 4 tablespoons of lime juice to the pot and taste test, adding another 1 or 2 tablespoons of juice depending on your own taste.  Serve with lime wedges and crunchy tortilla strips on top.

** Note:  To make the tortilla strips, heat a 1/2-inch of canola oil in a medium skillet, over medium-high heat.  When the oil is hot and shimmering, carefully drop the tortilla strips into the oil and stir gently until the strips are golden. Remove the strips and drain on paper towels, dusting lightly with salt, if desired.

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