Puebla Chicken Soup
Aprep person in the kitchen from Puebla, Mexico, showed us this fun and very flavorful family-style recipe. The ancho chile powder adds a smoky flavor and a dried chile scent. As for the oregano, if you have access to a market with Latino products, look for Caribbean or Mexican oregano. It has a hint of mint that makes it worth the search. The touch of crème fraîche-hardly a Mexican tradition-was our addition. It resembles crema dulce, the Mexican sweet cream that you would add if you were in Puebla, and lends a note of soothing creaminess. The tortilla chips provide just the opposite: crunch. This is a south-of-the-border original, spirited and very good.
Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 whole chicken breast skinned and boned, from 1 ½ to 2 pounds
- 1 medium red onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 large tomato
- 1 large green bell pepper
- 12 flat-leaf parsley sprigs
- ¼ cup ground ancho chile powder
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup corn oil
- 2 cans which is 14 ounces each of whole hominy
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 cup crème fraîche for serving
- 1 large bag unsalted tortilla chips for serving
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the chicken breast, and bring the broth to a boil again. Cover the pot, turn off the heat, and let stand until ready to use.
- Trim, peel, and cut the red onion into large chunks. Trim, peel, and cut the garlic into chunks. Quarter the tomato. Trim and dice the green pepper. Tie the parsley sprigs together with kitchen twine.
- In a blender, combine the onion, garlic, and tomato with the ancho chile powder, salt, cumin, oregano, and black pepper and blend to make a paste. (Add a little water if the paste needs thinning.)
- In a large, heavy pot, sauté the diced green pepper in the corn oil over low heat, stirring, until soft. Add the spice paste and cook until somewhat dry, about 5 minutes. (It may splatter some.)
- Remove the chicken breast from the broth. Add the broth to the paste mixture, stirring well to combine. Add the parsley and simmer for 30 minutes.
- On a cutting board, shred the chicken with 2 forks into thin strands.
- Drain and rinse the hominy well in a colander under cold water. Add the hominy and chicken to the soup and bring it to a boil. Correct the seasonings and remove the parsley.
- Sprinkle the cilantro over the soup. Serve immediately in bowls with a dollop of crème fraîche and corn chips on the side.