Sopa de Lima

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Sopa de Lima is citrus flavored Mayan chicken or turkey soup. The limes used in the Yucatan Peninsula are unique and have a slightly sweet and bitter/sour taste at the same time. Their flavor is described as a combination of tangerine, lime and grapefruit and it adds a very fresh, light flavor to the soup. However, these limes are often difficult to source outside of Mexico. Alternatively, recipes substitute either key limes, limes and equal parts lime and grapefruit juices.

My choice for this recipe is blood orange. It has a low level of sweetness, hints of grapefruit and slight tartness and I garnish the soup with thin slices of lime for additional freshness.

In researching recipes, I found a wide variation of spice combinations for cooking the poultry and broth to include clove and cinnamon that I consider strong flavors. I chose to omit them.in my recipe.

Ingredients

Serves 4

Chicken & Broth

3 garlic cloves, unpeeled and roasted

3 bay leaves

6 whole allspice berries

10 whole black peppercorns

1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano

1 tablespoon salt

½ medium white onion

2 chicken leg quarters (about 2 lbs), skin removed to minimize fat

Sofrito

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 green bell pepper chopped in ½ inch squares

½ medium white onion chopped

1 medium-large tomato chopped

½ cup blood orange juice or 2 tablespoons each of lime and grapefruit, or juice of 2 limes

Squeeze of ½ lime

Salt and pepper

Garnish

6 corn tortillas

⅓ cup vegetable oil

1 lime for thin slices

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

Preparation

Tortilla Strips Garnish

Using a kitchen scissor, knife or serrated pastry cutter, cut each tortilla into ½ inch strips.

Crispy chips are best achieved by using corn tortillas that are dried out. If available, use the de-hydrate feature of your oven at 120 degrees and they are done within 30 to 40 minutes. Half-way through the drying process, turn the chips over for uniform drying.

Pour oil into medium skillet to a depth of ¼ inch and heat the oil on medium high heat. Oil is ready when a small piece of tortilla placed in the oil sizzles (at about 375 F). Place a paper towel onto a large plate. Place a batch of strips into the skillet in a single layer. Use a slotted spoon to eliminate overlapping and to make sure all sides get coated with oil. Fry until the chips are just golden in color and firm approximately a minute or more. Transfer the tortilla chips to the paper toweled plate and lightly salt. Repeat the process in batches. Chips can be prepared a day ahead.

Chicken and Broth

Blacken the garlic cloves with skin-on and place in the soup pot. Add chicken or turkey, bay leaves, allspice, peppercorns, oregano and salt. Add 6 cups of water until all ingredients are submerged. Heat over medium heat until gently simmering. Reduce heat until broth is at a low but constant simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken to cool. Allow the broth to cool down.

When cooled, save the garlic for later reuse in the sofrito. Strain the broth through a kitchen sieve to clarify the broth and shred the chicken.

Sofrito

Heat a clean soup pot or dutch oven to medium heat, add the olive oil, chopped onion and bell pepper and sauté for about 5 minutes. Peel the garlic saved from cooking the broth. Add the garlic, chopped tomato and a pinch of salt then cook for 5 more minutes.

Finish

Pour the strained broth into pot with the sofrito. Add the blood orange juice and a squeeze of ½ lime. Season broth with salt to taste. Add the shredded chicken and heat the soup for serving.

Cut a lime into wheels. Ladle the hot Sopa de Lima evenly between serving bowls, top with wheels of lime and a handful of tortilla strips. Sprinkle each bowl with cilantro and serve immediately.