Hello from Goonengerry,
Just so you know, Goonengerry is a little village high above Byron Bay.
Not much here except a tiny public school with a great view of the ocean and a exceptional headmaster named Dennis Prior.
Both our daughters, Johanna and Thea, spent six idyllic years there before stepping out into the big city ways of Mullumbimby High.
Anyhow, that's another story. This story is about what Lynne made for
our tea last night...CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP.
I remember eating tinned chicken noodle soup as a kid. My favourite way to have it was topped with salty crackers. You let the crackers soak up the broth a bit, and eat them with a spoon.
This is sort of like that, but 100 times tastier.
Tortilla soup is a classic Mexican meal that you make with leftover tortillas. Here in Goonengerry, we never have such a thing as leftover tortillas, so we have used our corn chips as a just-as-good substitute. In actual fact, I think they are better, owing to their inherent crunchiness.
As a connoisseur of such things, I feel it's the few seconds just before the chip loses it crunch to the warm, wet soup that is the peak part of this whole experience. Or maybe it's the taste of coriander, jalapeno
chilli, chicken, avocado, and corn in a winter warming bowl of lovely...
CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups chicken stock
1 -150ml bottle BYRON BAY CHILLI COMPANY
GREEN JALAPENO CHILLI SAUCE W/ CORIANDER
1 ? cups frozen corn kernels
1 whole poached chicken breast (two halves), cubed
1 cup whole milk
2 green onions, chopped
salt
pepper
100 g BYRON BAY CHILLI COMPANY
NATURAL TOASTED CORN CHIPS
1 cup shredded tasty cheese
? cup fresh coriander
1 large ripe avocado, cubed
1 cup sour cream
chopped fresh chillies (optional)
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat and add chopped onion. Cook until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with flour, stir and cook for 1 minute. Add chicken stock, chilli sauce, corn and chicken. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in milk and green onions, season to taste with salt and pepper. Briefly heat corn chips in the oven. Serve soup in bowls topped with roughly broken corn chips, cheese, coriander, avocado and sour cream. Sprinkle with fresh chillis for more heat.
Serves 6
(six regular bowls that is...Aaron, Lynne and I ate the whole pot ourselves as a one course meal with impossible-to-refuse seconds)
Love and good food to everyone, The Bolands
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