Chiapas Chicken Tortilla Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb chicken thigh
1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 jalapeno peppers, 1 halved and seeded, 1 seeded and minced
1 bunch fresh cilantro, stems reserved, leaves chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
6 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, minced (about 2 cups)
3 tablespoons minced garlic
6 corn tortillas, torn into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
2 1/2 cups seeded and chopped fresh tomatoes or 2 1/2 cups canned tomatoes
1 lime, juice of
2 teaspoons salt

Preparation

Combine the chicken thighs, chopped onion, garlic cloves, halved jalapeno, whole cilantro stems, celery, carrot and water in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 1 hour.
Strain the stock, reserving the cooking liquid and the chicken thighs separately; discard the other solids.
When the chicken thighs are cool enough to handle, remove the meat.
Dice and reserve it.
Heat the olive oil in a large nonreactive saucepan set over medium heat until it ripples.
Add the minced onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the minced garlic and minced jalapeno and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the tortillas, chili powder, cumin and oregano, and cook for 1 minute.
Stir in the chopped tomatoes and 3 1/2 cups of the reserved chicken broth.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the tortillas have dissolved and the soup has thickened, about 30 minutes.
Add the diced chicken.
If the soup looks too thick, add some of the reserved broth.
To serve, stir in the lime juice and salt.
Ladle into warmed bowls and top with the reserved chopped cilantro.