Mexican Chicken Soup (Ina Garten's recipe)

Its a cloudy day in Jersey, I must say I did enjoy every bit of summer heat in last couple of weeks. So its hard getting back to no sunshine and pouring rain which ruins any chance of going out for lunch. I am stuck at home, scrolling through the list of bookmarked recipes to feed my appetite for something spicy and warm. Ina Garten's Mexican chicken soup popped up in my screen, I quickly scanned the ingredients in the recipe and I had all vegetables handy and some left over roasted chicken from last night.

 I love Ina's recipes, they are very easy to follow, practical and it comes out perfect every time. So I decided to give it a go, only addition I did to the recipe was to throw in some Swiss chards that I had lying around in my fridge. It came out really flavorful and light, perfect for a rainy day.  You can get her full recipe from her website, I have posted here with my modifications.

Ingredients:

4 split (2 whole) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
Olive oil
2 cups chopped onions (2 onions)
1 cup chopped celery (2 stalks) 

1/2 cup chopped swiss chard

2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
2½ quarts chicken stock
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes puree
2 to 4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
¼ to ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
6 (6-inch) fresh white corn tortillas 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Direction:

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the chicken breasts skin side up on a sheet pan. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until done. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat. Cover and set aside. 

2.heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and carrots ,swiss chard and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions start to brown.

3.Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, and the cilantro, if using. Cut the tortillas in half, then cut them crosswise into ½-inch strips and add to the soup.

3.Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and season to taste. Serve the soup hot topped with a dollop of sour cream and broken tortilla chips.