Happy Halloween Everyone!!!

I just love the cool crisp October Days don’t you?  The smell of hay in the air, Pumpkins decorating every door step, and cuddling up in a cozy sweater by the fire with a bowl of this soup.

Unfortunately, the cool crisp October’s I love are nowhere to be found in Texas.  It was almost 90 yesterday and will be in the upper 80’s again today. YUCK!  Summer ended over a month ago! Can’t a girl get a little relief? The good news is regardless of the weather this soup is always good!

I originally saw this recipe on Rachel Ray’s 30-Minute Meals TV show several years ago and I have been making it ever since. I’ve made my changes to the recipe along the way and I almost always double this recipe to keep on hand in my freezer.

This delicious soup comes together really quickly and is full of warming, spicy, fall flavors like cinnamon, smoked paprika, cumin and of course Ancho chili. My favorite way to serve this soup is in big bowls topped with avocado, cilantro, cheddar, a drizzle of Mexican crema and a good squeeze of lime. Oh and don’t forget the crispy fried tortilla strips, honestly would make a double batch of them because you will not be able to stop eating them!!

Smoky Ancho Chicken Tortilla Soup

Adapted from Rachel Ray

Ingredients:

6-8 corn tortillas, cut in to thin strips

Vegetable Oil for frying

2 large dried Ancho chiles, seeded and stemmed

4 Cups chicken stock

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 ears corn on the cob, husked

1 large red onion, chopped

1 jalapeno, minced

1 Canned Chipotle pepper in Adobo sauce

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 Teaspoon ground cumin

1½ Teaspoons smoked sweet paprika

½ Teaspoon ground cinnamon,

1 (28-ounce) can fire roasted diced or crushed tomatoes

1 Tablespoon honey

1 Rotisserie Chicken (Smoked if you can find it), skinned and shredded

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Bottle of Beer

2 Limes

2 Avocados

Mexican Crema, for garnish

Cilantro leaves, for garnish

Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

Using a grill pan or outdoor grill, grill the corn on the cob over high heat until charred. Allow the corn to cool then remove from the cob. Hey you know that bunt pan you’re got way in the back of you cabinet? Its perfect for taking corn off the cob…

Heat a large cast iron pan over high heat add the Ancho chiles and toast them for about 1 minute, until they are fragrant. Add the chicken stock to the large cast iron pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the chiles are tender. Remove from the heat to cool. Then puree the Ancho chiles and the chicken stock in a blender along with 1 canned chipotle chili in adobo sauce.

Heat a large soup pot with vegetable oil over medium heat add the onions, jalapeño, corn, and garlic.  Sauté for 5 minutes.  Reduce the heat to low and add the cumin, smoked paprika and cinnamon and cook for another minute.  Stir in the tomatoes and the Ancho chili puree. Stir in the honey and the shredded chicken and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour in the bottle of beer and 1 cup of water. Simmer the soup to allow the flavors to combine for 15 minutes.

While the soup simmers heat about 2 inches of vegetable oil over medium heat.  Once the oil is hot, fry the tortilla strips in small batches for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Transfer the fried tortilla strips to a baking sheet lined with paper towels and toss with a couple of pinches of salt.  Repeat until all the strips are fried.

Pit and dice the avocados and add to a small bowl. What is the fastest way to dice an Avocado? All you need is a knife, wire baking rack, and a bowl.

Just slice the avocado in half and remove the pit with a sharp knife.  Place the Avocado on the wire baking rack cut side down.

Then Smash…. 

Voila!! Perfect diced avocado!

Toss the diced avocado with the juice of one lime; slice the remaining lime into wedges for serving.

Pile some crispy tortilla strips into each soup bowl.

Ladle the soup over the crispy tortilla strips and ggarnish with diced avocado, Mexican crema, jalapeño slices, shredded cheese, cilantro, and some fresh squeezed lime juice.