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
