Baby Acapulco's Soup in Paris (before)
After a few tries I finally came up with a pretty close version of Baby A's famous tortilla soup... Here is a photo of the kitchen table before I started cookin' it!
1 Roasted chicken. In this case, I bought a roasted chicken from the market. The roasted chicken gives the soup a very nice flavor. But a non-roasted chicken could work as well - just will have a different flavor.
3 Red Onions (halved and some finely chopped)
2 bundles Cilantro without any stems (stems make it bitter)
2-3 Chopped tomatos
2-3 Garlic cloves
1-2 T Ground cumin
2 Avocados
3 Carrots (chunks)
3-4 stalks Celery (chunks)
a few Limes
5 Corn Tortillas
Basmati Rice
Optional: Mexican Cheese
Optional: Chile peppers, cayenne peppers, or any hot pepper will do (cayenne flakes as well)
Remove the breast meat and thigh meat from the Roast Chicken. Dice the meat and put it in the fridge.
In a Large pot put the remainder of the roast chicken, carrots, onions, celery, garlic cloves. Top with water. Add some Olive Oil, a bit of salt and pepper, and optionally the hot pepper.
Simmer over low heat (covered) till the chicken completely comes apart (about 2 hours). To boost the flavor, consider simmering an hour or so without the cover allowing it to cook down a bit. Drain and strain everything into another pot. Continue heating the broth, add salt, pepper, cumin to taste (be careful with the cumin - not too much!). If needed, soak up any excess fat off the top using a tortilla or bread.
Prepare the Basmati Rice. Don't cook it too much as the hot broth will do the rest. And you'll want to have the leftovers without soggy rice.
When ready to serve put the diced chicken, scoop of rice, chopped red onions, chopped tomatoes, fresh cilantro, tortilla, avocado in each bowl. Add the very hot broth to the bowl.
Serve with warmed corn tortillas, extra Cilantro, Onions, Grated cheese, Limes on the side.
Vegetarian: Omit the chicken! This soup can be just as good using veggie boullion or just add more veggies when cooking. Combined with the rice, cheese, and tortillas this is a meal in itself.
Voila!