Ancho Chicken Tortilla Soup

• 2 large ancho chiles, seeded and stemmed
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup frozen kernels, defrosted
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno chile, seeded and chopped
  
• 1 red chile pepper, seeded and chopped
  
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (28-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 rotisserie chicken, skinned and shredded
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup of water
  
• 2 limes
• 2 ripe Hass avocados, halved
• Sour cream, for garnish
• Cilantro leaves, for garnish
• Tortilla chips

Add the ancho chiles and the chicken stock to a large pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the chiles are tender. Remove from the heat to cool.

While the anchos simmer, heat a medium soup pot with vegetable oil over high heat. Add the corn and saute until charred at the edges, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat a little, add the onions, jalapeno, red chile pepper and garlic. Season with cumin, smoked paprika and cinnamon. Saute for 5 minutes, then stir in the tomatoes. Puree the anchos and the stock in a food processor, then add it to the soup pot. Stir in the honey and the shredded chicken and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Thin the soup with 1 cup of water and simmer over low heat to combine flavors, about 5 minutes.

Zest and juice 1 lime and add to the soup pot. Seed and dice the avocados and add to a small bowl. Dress with the juice of the remaining lime.

Top with diced avocado and ladle the soup over the avocado. Garnish with sour cream and whole or chopped cilantro leaves & serve with tortilla chips.

Things I learned from this recipe-
1. ancho chiles are not a type of chile.... they are DRIED poblano chile peppers
2. the only place in tuscaloosa you can get ancho chiles is the piggly wiggly in alberta city & save-a-lot (lol... go figure!)

Rating:YUM