← Nouns Cooking · Soup Pot

Ingredients

• 1.75 l chicken stock
• 700 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 white onion, half left in a chunk, half finely chopped
• 4 cloves Garlic, peeled
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 4 allspice berries
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 Bay leaves
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• 4 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips
• 100 ml vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 green or red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 2 Tomato, seeded and chopped
• 3 Lime, juiced, plus wedges to serve
• ½ Grapefruit, juiced
• 1 habanero chilli, thinly sliced (optional)
• 1 handful Coriander (cilantro), chopped
• 1 Avocado, diced
• Salt

Method

1. Put the stock, chicken, onion chunk, garlic, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, bay leaf and oregano in a pot. Bring to a boil, then simmer gently for 20–25 min, until the chicken is cooked through (75°C/165°F).
2. Lift out the chicken and shred it with two forks. Strain the broth and throw away the spices and onion.
3. Meanwhile heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat and fry the tortilla strips in batches for 2–3 min, until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt.
4. Pour off all but 1 tbsp of the oil. Cook the chopped onion and pepper for 5 min, then add the tomatoes and cook for 5 min more, until soft.
5. Pour in the strained broth and simmer for 10 min. Add the chicken and season with salt.
6. Turn off the heat and stir in the lime and grapefruit juice. Adding the citrus off the heat keeps it fresh and fragrant. Serve topped with tortilla strips, coriander, avocado, habanero slices and lime wedges.

Tips

• In Yucatán it is made with lima agria, a bitter, aromatic local lime; a mix of lime and grapefruit juice is the closest match.
• Habanero is very hot, so put it on the table for people to add themselves. Check the stock is gluten-free if you need it to be. Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate within 2 hours and reheat until piping hot.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Nourished Kitchen Milk Street Cooks Without Borders