Sopa de Pollo con Chirmol y Tortilla

Guatemalan Style Sopa de Pollo con Tortilla de Maiz y Chirmol

This chicken soup is both light and filled with flavors. Super easy to make and perfect for rainy days.

To make this, I had some leftover chicken breast that I had pan sauteed with some salt, pepper and cumin in olive oil. I chopped it into bit sized pieces and set it aside.

Next, I took half of a big white onion (diced) and let it sweat in the stock pot with a little olive oil. Make sure to stir often. You do not want to caramelize, just soften. I then added in several cloves of garlic, diced.

After about five minutes, I added in the chicken and enough water to cover. I brought it to a high simmer and added bite sized pieces of celery and a good dose of cumin, salt, and pepper. I then covered it and lowered heat to a low simmer for 20 minutes- or about how long it took to run to the store to get the limes, cilantro and tomatoes I had forgotten to buy.

by the time I returned, the water reduced some. I added 1 can of Goya black beans (though home-made would have been better, but that's another day of work). I was sure to rinse the beans well first and drain as I didn't want the thick sodium packed juice involved. I added more water to cover and more cumin and salt (to taste). Then, a good few dashes of hot sauce and a splash of beer. I used a Hefeweizen, but really anything on the lighter side works to round out the base. I then squeezed a big lime into the pot.

I then chopped up about a handful of cilantro and added it to the pot. Again, I brought it back up to a simmer and left it uncovered to bring the water down.

Meanwhile, I worked on the chirmol. In Honduras, it is called chismol, but in Guate I always saw it written as chirmol. Basically, I chopped roma tomatoes and another handful of cilantro. I then tossed it with the juice of half of a lime and added salt and pepper. I can eat this stuff by itself it is so amazing.

When the soup was closed to finish, I began heating up the tortillas. I bought the soft white corn tortillas because, again, making the tortillas is a few hour process. And besides, the store bought ones aren't so bad, at least in our area where there is a large immigrant population.

When I was ready to eat, I prepped the last, most amazing ingredient...aguacate- avocado. mmm.  I wanted nice think slices to add to the top.

To serve: I poured the soup in the bowl, careful to meet a good food to broth ratio. I then added the chirmol and some avocado to the top and ate it with the corn tortillas in each bite. I like to put the avocade, chirmol and tortillas on the side and add each to the dish as needed while I eat.

Heaven.

Ingredients breakdown  (makes about 5 servings)

2 smallish chicken breasts, sauteed and seasoned in advance
1 can Goya black beans, rinsed well and drained
1/2 bunch of cilantro
2+ roma tomatoes (depeding on how much chirmol you want)
1/2 white onion
1-2 avocados (to add to top as you eat)
1 large stalk of celery
lots of ground cumin
salt to taste
pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste
splash of a wheat bear or other ale
soft corn tortillas

Central Am Inspired Enchilada Salad

In Central America much of our diet includes beans, tortillas and avacado. One dish that is especially popular is enchilada. These are not the goo covered cheesy hot concotions of US Mexican retaurants. Instead an enchilada is made with a tostada (a crunchy corn tortilla) topped with beans, cheese, and either lettuce or raw cabbage, hot sauce and maybe some aguacate (the name for avocado down here). 

While visiting the US, I needed something "familiar" to my current daily diet and whipped up this for lunch. It is mestizo in nature- a little Central American and a little US flavored. 

Ingredients:

• Crispy corn tortillas
• Mixed greens or shredded cabbage
• Aguacate or Haas avacado- whatever is avail near you
• Good hot sauce (not tobasco) if you like spicy
• Frijoles volteados. I prefer tehse to the gross refried beans of the Old el Paso type. Personally I love the Natura 's or Ducal that you can find in the "Mexican"section of the US supermarket: 

  

• 1 Tomato (I love hierloom or anything with real flavor), diced
• 1 lime
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• 1/2 jalepeño, seeded and diced if desired
• Cilantro, if desired

Preparation:

• Lay out your greens on a plate. 
• Add slices of the aguacate/avacado. I like to leave the pit in so if I don't use all of it, I can wrap and save it for a few days. 
• In a small bowl, mix together a diced tomato, diced red onion and the jalepeño and some chopped cilantro (if using). You just made a version of pico de gallo! Congratulations! 
• Cut lime in half and squeeze into tomato mix. Stir and add salt and pepper to taste
• With your hands, crunch up the corn tortillas to bite sized pieces and sprinkle onto greens
• Heat the bean in a pot or microwave. You can add cheese and/or hot sauce if you like. 
• Scoop beans onto greens and chips
• Scoop the pico de gallo onto the salad. 
• Squeeze the rest of the lime onto the salad. 
• Enjoy! Buen provecho! 

Lentil Burgers- Can be vegan and gluten free!

Lentil Veggie Burger Recipe

I adapted this from Naturally Vegetarian Recipes.
You can make this Vegan and gluten free and be creative with toppings.

Total Prep Time: ~30 Minutes 
Total Waiting-for-things-to-cook-or-sit-time ~4 hours:  (1.5h to soak lentils, ~50 mins to let lentils simmer, 1/2 hour to cool mixture, 10 min to cook patties) ~ Servings: 5 hamburger bun sized patties
 ~Nutrition Data, 54g Serving (burger only):194 cal, 23g carb, 8g fat, 294 mg sodium, 9g fiber, 10g protein, low Cholesterol, good source Vit E, Thiamin, Folate, Magnesium. Estimated glycemic load 7

Ingredients:
 * 1 cup brown lentils
 * 2 cups water
 * Optional: 1 unsalted vegan veggie bouillon cube (I used a chicken one as I had no veggie, so mine was not totally veggie friendly)
 * Olive oil for cooking
 * ~1/4-1/2 red onion, chopped
 * 3 cloves diced garlic
 * 1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger OR 1 1/2 tsp dried ginger
 * 1 medium sized finely chopped carrot
 * 1 tsp cardamon (or cumin)
 * 3 tsp ground sage
 * salt to taste
 * black pepper to taste
 * splash of worchester sauce
 * 1/2 cup quick oats (like 1 min. oatmeal), lightly chopped
 * 1 crust of stale integral bread (leave out if gluten free and use more oats), finely chopped

  Directions:
 1. Soak lentils in hot water in a pot for 1.5 hours
 2. Drain
 3. Add 2 cups of water, plus optional veggie cube or bay leaf, add sage
 4. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 1/2+ hour until tender
 5. Add cadamon or cumin, salt and pepper, worchester, and ginger. Add the finely chopped carrot. Remove lid and turn heat up to medium, stirring occasionally, until almost all of the remaining liquid has been absorbed. Some liquid is ok as it will bond to the oats.
 6. Meanwhile, chop the onion and garlic, sautee in olive oil until onions are almost carmelized.
 7. Place onions and garlic in a large container and let cool. Add the chopped oats and mix together.
 8. When lentils are tender, mash lentils with a potato masher, stick blender or fork.
 9. Mix lentils in with oats and onion mix. Add the bread crumbs (if using). Pat down into a small loaf. Let cool for about 1/2 hour. You can put in the refrigerator for part of this time if the mixture has cooled enough. 
10. Heat the pan on med-hi and drizzle with olive oil. Swirl to coat.
 11. With a spoon, scoop the mixture into your hand and make a ball. Form into a patty. Mine tend to be larger (to fit a hamburger bun) so they only made 5. If it seems not quite stiff, add a little more oats and-or dry bread crumbs. If too crumbly, add more water.
 12. Do a test patty to see how long you need to cook each side. I found that it was under 3 mins per side. The outside should be a little crispy.
 13. If you are not vegan, add some cheese once the patty is flipped. If you are not celiac, grill or toast the buns.
 14. Add your toppings. We went traditional mayo, mustard ketchup, but you can be classier.