taco soup with chicken and beans

Last Saturday we had dinner with our friends, the theme of the night- SOUP! All three of the couples in our dinner club made a different soup, and I have to say, they were all delicious! We had Curried Carrot Almond Soup, Moroccan Vegetable, and we made a Chicken and Bean "Taco Soup".


Originally I was going to make Posole, but I didn't have any hominy, and I DID have some beautiful Lila beans from Rancho Gordo. So I used my posole recipe, and subbed my beans for the hominy. The soup was rich and spicy, full of chicken and tender beans. But the best part was all of the toppings! We had shredded hearts of romaine (yes, lettuce in soup is very good!), diced grape tomatoes, avocados, red onion, cilantro, limes, and tortilla chips. I really enjoyed it! To me it tasted like a hot, crunchy, delicious taco. So, I'm calling it a taco soup, and it will definitely be a keeper in our house. Enjoy!



Chicken Posole (or with beans, Taco Soup!)

Broth
8 cups chicken stock, canned or homemade
bouquet garni of 1 bay leaf, 5 sprigs of fresh thyme, and 3 sprigs fresh oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp chili powder

Posole
2 teaspoons olive oil
1-1.5 lbs chicken
2 cans hominy ***

Any or all of the following garnishes:
shredded lettuce
diced tomatoes
diced avocado
diced red onion
cilantro
lime wedges
tortilla chips
radish, sliced thin

In a large pot or dutch oven, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the bouquet garni and minced garlic. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the bouquet garni and add the salt, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, and chili powder.

Continue to simmer on the stove top until all of the other ingredients are ready. Taste for seasoning. If bitter, add another teaspoon of salt. If too concentrated, add a cup of water to dilute.

To prepare chicken, pat dry and season on both sides generously with salt and pepper. In a frying pan or stove-top grill pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 4 minutes until the underside is crispy and golden brown. Flip the chicken and continue to cook another 4-5 minutes, until cooked through. Remove to cutting board and rest until cool enough to handle.

When the chicken is cooking and cooling, prepare the garnishes.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, dice it into bite sized cubes and add to the broth. Drain the hominy into a strainer and rinse under cold water. Add this to the broth.

Bring the soup to a boil and bring everything to the same temperature.

Serve in individual bowls and allow guests to garnish.

*** We used 1 cup of dried beans instead. I cooked them in a crockpot for 4 hours on high, along with some onion, garlic, fresh thyme, celery, and bay leaf. Add the cooked and drained beans to the soup at the same time you would have added the hominy.