Zia Hatch Green Chile Chicken Tortilla Soup

Good for the Wintertime. Good for the soul. This is a hearty take on the classic recipe. Enjoy! 

Ingredients:

Makes about 4-6 bowls

- 2.5 lbs Bone-In Chicken Thighs or Legs (you can use boneless breast if you'd like but we find the bones give this recipe more flavor)

- 16oz Bone Broth, beef or chicken (we use beef to give this recipe extra heartiness)

- 1 Jar Zia Hatch Green Chile

- 1 White Onion, quartered with peel still on

- 1 Head garlic, halved with peel still on

- Corn Tortillas, 6+

- 1/2 cup Cilantro, chopped

- Salt to taste

- High heat frying oil such as vegetable or canola

- Mexican Melting Cheese such as Oaxaca or Queso Fresco (at least 4-8 oz but use as much as you'd like)

- Avocado (optional)

- Lime wedges for serving (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large pot, add chicken, bone broth, 3 quarters of the onion, and 1/2 jar Zia Hatch Green Chile. Add 8 cups of water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 1 hour until the chicken is tender. Stir occasionally and scrape foam off the surface as needed. 

2. While broth is simmering, cut at least 4 tortillas into strips. In a cast iron skillet or large frying pan, heat oil (about 1/4 cup) on medium heat. Once oil is hot, fry two non cut tortillas (we will crumble these into the mixture later on) until golden and very crispy. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and lightly salt them while they're fresh out of the skillet. Repeat this process for the tortilla strips that you cut, stirring them regularly so they don't stick together. Set fried tortilla strips aside to garnish.

3. After an hour of simmering, remove the chicken from broth and let cool to room temperature. Strain the broth, discard the solids, and pour broth back into the pot. In a blender or large food processor, add half of the cilantro, last quarter of the onion (peeled), and remainder of the jar of Zia Hatch Green Chile. Pour enough broth in to cover all of these ingredients and crumble the two whole tortillas that you fried. Puree until as smooth as you can get it. Transfer puree back to remainder of broth. 

4. The chicken should be cool enough to shred by hand now. Discard the skin and bones and shred each piece, adding the chicken to the broth / puree mixture as you go. Once all chicken is in the broth, bring to a boil again. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and let cook for about 10 minutes to let the flavors combine, stirring occasionally. 

5. To serve, add avocado (if using) and cheese to each bowl. Ladle the soup over it, mixing as you pour in. Garnish with fresh cilantro, a lime wedge, tortilla strips, and even more cheese if you like. Enjoy!

 Want more delicious Hatch Chile Recipes? View more here!