Ina Garten's Mexican Chicken Soup

Now I'm not going to lie - this didn't really set my world on fire but I'm not really into Mexican food. However, Joe loved it so much I thought he was going to explode before he stopped eating it. It's pretty fun to eat too and filling for a soup although once you see what goes into it that's not surprising.This is from her book Barefoot Contessa at Home.

You need a big pot for this. Big.

MEXICAN CHICKEN SOUP
Serves 6

2 chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
2 onions, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
4 large cloves of garlic, chopped
2.84 litres chicken stock (2 1/2 quarts)
800g chopped tomatoes in puree
2-4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
6 fresh white tortillas

To Serve:
sliced avocado
sour cream
Cheddar cheese, grated
Tortilla chips

Pre-heat the oven to 175C/350F/Gas Mark 4.

1. Place chicken breasts, skin side up on a baking sheet. Rub with olive oil, sprinkles with salt and pepper and roast for 35-40 mins until cooked. When the chicken is cool enough to be handled, remove the skin and bones and shred the meat. Cover and set aside.

Chicken breasts - mine didn't have bones

2. Heat 3 tbsps of olive oil in a large pot. Add the onions, celery and carrots and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes or until the onions start to brown.

Husband chopping onions to prevent weeping (note bowl of bribary peanuts)

3. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

4. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 tsp pepper. Cut the tortilla's in half then cut them cross-ways into 1/2 inch strips and add to the soup. Bring the soup to the boil. then lower the heat and simmer for 25 mins.

Tortilla strips

5. Add the shredded chicken and season to taste.

Shredding chicken into soup

6. Serve the soup hot, topped with sliced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, grated cheddar and some tortilla chips.

Ready to eat