Chicken Soup with Fire Roasted Tomatoes, Fish Peppers, & Lime

I will spare you the whole (seemingly) obligatory preamble about how there's an autumn chill in the air and it's got me thinking cozy thoughts about soup and blankets and roaring fires and blah, blah, blah.  Besides, there is no weather that is inhospitable to even the hottest of soups, in my humble opinion. This one, for instance, is inspired by a caldo de pavo that I had at a Yucatecan restaurant, Coox Hanal,  on a warm day in Mexico City. It featured one of the things I love so much about many Mexican dishes: the unabashed use of limes.

My version includes a healthy does of fresh lime juice as well, to which I've added fire roasted tomatoes and a local heirloom vegetable, the fish pepper. I had never seen or heard of them until recently, when I discovered them at a farmers market:

They seemed as if they would pack quite a wallop when raw, but oddly, once cooked in the soup they mellowed considerably and lent the broth a subtle peppery spice.

If you've got homemade or store bought chicken stock on hand, this comes together in a snap.

 Chicken Soup with Fire Roasted Tomatoes, Fish Peppers, & Lime

serves 6

1 white onion, diced

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 fish peppers, minced (or substitute jalapeno peppers)

5 cloves garlic, sliced thin

1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano

14 ounces diced fire roasted tomatoes (canned)

2  each bone-in skin on chicken breasts and legs

Enough chicken stock to cover plus 2 inches, about 6 cups

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice, plus extra to taste

1 lime cut into thin slices

salt and pepper to taste

For the garnish: 

Strips of fried blue corn tortilla

fresh cilantro

slice of fresh line

In a stock pot over medium heat, fry the onions and peppers in olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic, dried oregano, and a pinch of salt and cook for 1 - 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and stir to combine. Place the chicken in the pot and cover with the broth. Lower the heat and simmer gently until the chicken is cooked, 30 minutes or so. Remove the chicken and allow to cool. When cool, remove the skin and shred the meat. Add this, along with the lime juice and lime slices,  back to the pot and simmer until the chicken is heated through. Salt and pepper to taste. Be generous with the pepper! Serve garnished with strips of fried tortilla, cilantro, and slices of lime.  Remove the lime slices before storing.

Buen provecho!