Aztec Soup

This is a tortilla soup-esque dish that Brit found and sent my direction. I had recently expressed desire to try our hand again at tortilla soup and this recipe seemed like a great way to start. I actually cooked this dish the day before as the required length of time did not make this a realistic weekday meal. We also felt that giving the soup an extra day to sit would help the flavors meld together and give the soup a significantly improved taste. I definitely enjoyed this soup, and the required garnishes really help make this dish work well, but we could make some improvements in the future. Once I figure them out I'll let you know.

Aztec Soup
(originally printed on the Daily Candy)

2 onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 tbsp black peppercorns
1 whole chicken, quartered
2 dried pasilla chiles (we found these at Whole Foods)
9 Roma tomatoes, chopped in half
Tortilla strips (we used crumbled tortilla chips)
Avocado, sliced
Shredded Mexican blend cheese
Cilantro, chopped
Lime, cut into wedges

In a large pot, place half of the onion and garlic, the carrots, bay leaves, peppercorns, and chicken. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the chicken by two inches. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until the chicken is cooked, about 45 minutes later. If you can, skin off any fat that collects at the top, or wait until later to do so (I did the latter).

Remove the chicken to a bowl, wait for it to cool, and shred into small pieces. Meanwhile, pour the stock through cheesecloth and discard the vegetables while reserving the liquid. As the stock cools the fat will collect at the top and will make it easier to remove.

On a non-stick sprayed baking sheet, broil the tomatoes and remaining onion and garlic. My tomatoes never charred, but I stopped when I could tell that the onion and garlic were done and the tomato skins were peeling back. When cool enough to handle, remove the skims from the tomatoes.

Also broil the chiles for just a few minutes until toasted, but not burnt. Transfer to warm water for 5-10 minutes, which will prove difficult as the chiles will have inflated under the broiler and will float obnoxiously.

When ready, blend the tomatoes, onion, garlic, and chiles until smooth. In a large pot over medium-high heat, heat some olive oil and fry the tomato puree. Be very careful as this mixture will splatter everywhere and will make you blister when it lands on you but you're too busy stirring to keep the splattering to a minimum and can't wipe the burning mix off of you until 10-15 minutes later. Once the puree has darkened in color and thickened, 5 minutes later, reduce the heat and add back the reserved chicken stock. The original recipe called for 4 quarts, but my stock only had about 3 quarts in it. Oh well. Simmer for 15 minutes.

At this point I placed the soup in the fridge and continued the next day by adding the chicken to the soup and cooking for another 10-15 minutes to heat up and let all the flavors mix together. I also, conveniently, removed a lot of the fat that had collected on the surface of the soup while overnight in the fridge. Serve with the remaining ingredients as a garnish and try to ignore the pain from the burning puree that splattered all over you.