Chicken Lime Tortilla Soup

Make the Stock
Place a large stockpot on the stove on medium/high heat. Add the water, chicken leg quarters, celery, carrot, jalapeno, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a slight boil. Reduce to low heat. Cover and simmer for 6 hours. If you’ve purchased chicken stock, skip this step and cook your leg quarters in a preheated 400-degree oven for 30-40 minutes depending on the size of the leg quarters. Make sure to season your protein!

Make the Soup
Remove the chicken from the stock and allow it to cool. Strain the stock using a colander into a large bowl. With a large spoon, press down on the vegetables to squeeze out the remaining juices. Discard the vegetables. Place the stockpot back on the stove on medium/high heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil. When oil begins to smoke, add the onion, poblano pepper and garlic. Sauté for 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste, cumin, flour and lime zest. Sauté for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock. With a wooden spoon, scrape all the delicious bits off the bottom of the stockpot. Pull the chicken off the bone and add it to the stockpot along with the chopped cilantro and lime juice. When the soup begins to boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Make the Garnishes
Corn – Pull the husks down to the base of the corn and remove the silk. Fold the husks back over the kernels. Place the corn on a grill. Cover and grill for 15-20 minutes, turning the corn every 5 minutes. You may also use an indoor grill pan for this technique, or simply remove the husks completely and boil your corn in water for 10 minutes.

Fried Corn Tortillas – Place a medium pot on the stove on high heat. Add cooking oil and heat to 375 degrees. With a sharp knife, thinly slice the corn tortillas. Working in small batches, fry the corn tortilla strips until crisp (about 1-2 minutes). Remove from the oil, sprinkle with salt and let them dry on a paper towel.

Pickled Jalapeno – Place a small pot on the stove over medium heat. Add 1 cup water, 1/2 cup champagne vinegar, and 1/4 cup sugar. Thinly slice two jalapenos and add them to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Chipotle Sour Cream – Mix 2 tbsp chipotle salsa with 1/2 cup sour cream.

Assemble
Ladle about a cup and a half of soup into a bowl. Garnish with 2 tbsp fresh corn, 2 tbsp cheese, a dollop of chipotle sour cream, a handful of fried tortilla strips, 2 sprigs of cilantro, 2 slices of avocado and 4 jalapeno slices (in this order). Repeat for each serving.