And Summer Pottery Projects

Tortilla Soup and Avocado Taco

Our favorite restaurant in East Nashville is Mas Tacos. I always get the Chicken Tortilla Soup and the Avocado Taco. Charlie learned how to duplicate these recipes. The Tortilla soup is a wonderful recipe, though time consuming. Charlie loves to chop and dice and does not mind spending hours in the kitchen. I am more of an open a can of soup cook.

Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 4-pound chicken
• 1. onion,quartered
• 1 carrot, peeled, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 dried chipotle chiles
• 1. jalapeno (with seeds), halved lenghwise
• 7. cilantro sprigs
• 3. tablespoons fresh lime juice
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Vegetable Oil (for frying)
• 5 corn tortillas, cut in 1/2″ thick strips
• 2 ears of husked corn, or 2 cups frozen thawed corn kernels
• chopped fresh cilantro, halved cherry tomatoes, avocado wedges, mild feta

1. Bring chicken, onion, carrot, garlic, chipotles, jalapeño, and 16 cups of water to a boil in a large soup pot; skim foam from the surface. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, skimming the surface frequently, until chicken is cooked through to 165 degrees F, about 45 minutes ( Check the temperature after 30 minutes).
2. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
3. Strain broth into another large pot. Return chiles to broth, if a spicier broth is desired, discard remaining solids.
4. Shred chicken meat; discard skin and bones. Transfer meat in a medium bowl and set aside.
5. Meanwhile, set pot with strained broth over medium heat, and add cilantro sprigs. Bring broth to a simmer; cook until reduced to 8 cups, about 1 hour. Discard sprigs and chiles.. Stir in 3 tablespoons lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Add chicken to broth.
7. Pour oil into a heavy skillet to a depth 1″.Heat over medium heat. Working in batches, fry tortilla strips, turning occasionally until crisp and brown, 2 to 3 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel drain. Season with salt.
8. Cook corn under a broiler, turning occasionally, until charred in spots. Let stand until cool to handle. Cut kernels from the cob is strips.
9. Rewarm broth with chicken. Divide soup among bowls. Top generously with corn, tortilla chips, cilantro, tomatoes, avocado, and crumbled queso fresco. Add a final squeeze of lime juice to each bowl.

Avocado Tacos

To be added later. Basically you deep fry slices of avocado and put slaw and a peach salsa in the soft taco.