Sopa de lima - Mexican lime soup

Step 1

Place the chicken in a pot and add the stock, water, onion, bay leaf, garlic (peeled but left whole), oregano and salt and pepper. Cover and place over a medium heat to bring to a simmer. Continue to cook until the chicken is cooked through and tender, around 20 - 30 minutes.

Step 2

Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables for the sofrito. Mince the onion and pepper and finely chop the tomato and garlic, if using.

Step 3

Once the chicken has cooked, remove the chicken and let cool a minute or two. Meanwhile, strain the broth and discard the other solids but keep all of the liquid. You can either strain it directly into another pot of around the same size, or into a bowl, clean out the original pot and transfer back.

Step 4

Cut the tortillas into thin strips - if using larger tortillas, cut the bigger strips in half (or you can cut the tortillas in half first then into strips).

Step 5

Warm the oil in a medium skillet/frying pan over a medium heat. Add the tortilla strips and cook, spreading them out and turning as needed until they are crisp on all sides but not burnt. If you prefer, you can lightly brush/drizzle the tortilla strips with oil and cook in a medium oven for a few minutes instead.

Step 6

If you have used the skillet for the tortilla strips, once they are cooked, remove them and drain them on kitchen paper. Then you can re-use the skillet for the sofrito.

Step 7

Warm the skillet with a little extra oil, if needed, over a medium heat and add the onion and pepper. Cook for a minute then add the tomato (and garlic, if using). Add a little salt, pepper and oregano and cook for a few minutes, stirring now and then, until all the vegetables have softened but are not browning. Once softened, remove from the heat.

Step 8

Add the sofrito to the strained broth and mix through. Shred the chicken and add this as well then cook the soup for a few more minutes to let everything mingle.

Step 9

Meanwhile, squeeze 1 to 1 1/2 of the limes and thinly slice the remaining half lime. Remove the cilantro leaves from the stem and roughly tear or chop.

Step 10

Add the lime juice to the soup (1 lime or 1 1/2 to taste and depending on how juicy the limes are). Mix through then serve the soup in bowls, making sure you distribute the chicken evenly, topped with some of the tortilla strips, some cilantro and a slice or two of lime.