Soup recipes perfect for cool nights

There’s something so satisfying about making soup.

Try this recipe for chicken tortilla soup next time you need an easy dinner idea for the cool fall nights.

It’s very easy to do; just add meat, vegetables, and spices to a pot with water or stock and cook. It’s the end result that makes all the time waiting worth it.      This particular soup is very interesting to me because of all the garnishes that really help to enhance the soup to another level. Feel free to also add jalapeno slices, diced tomatoes, chopped scallions or chopped onions as well to liven the soup up.

This recipe makes more than 1 1/2 gallons of soup, so be prepared to freeze some unless you have 15 hungry mouths to feed. 

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 whole chicken, 4 to 5 lbs

2 red onions, diced

5 carrots, diced

5 celery ribs, diced

10 garlic cloves, smashed

1 jalapeno, cut in half lengthwise

2 large tomatoes, diced

3 ears corn, stripped of the kernels with the cobs reserved

1 bunch cilantro, chopped with stems reserved

2 quarts low sodium chicken broth

2 quarts water

1 cup white rice, cooked

Salt to taste

Lime wedges

Tortilla strips

Shredded cheese

Avocado slices

Combine the chicken, onions, carrots, celery, garlic cloves, jalapeno, tomatoes, corn cobs, and cilantro stems in a large stockpot. Add the water and chicken broth to the stockpot and bring to a simmer.  Cook for 3 to 4 hours or until the chicken is tender.  Remove the chicken and shred the meat off and add back to the stockpot. Remove the corn cobs and add in the corn kernels and cooked rice.  Season with salt to taste and toss in the chopped cilantro.  Serve with the lime wedges, tortilla strips, shredded cheese, and avocado slices on the side.

Jeffery Dailey is a chef at Corbett’s in Louisville. Formerly of Carrollton, he now lives in Louisville. His column will appear every other week on the Community Page.