Chicken Tortilla Soup - Cowboy Kent Rollins

Ingredients

10 cups water

3 teaspoons salt (divided)

1 serrano pepper

3 garlic cloves (divided)

3 chicken breasts

4 chili cascavel/guajillo (stemmed and seeded)

2 dried ancho chilies (stemmed and seeded)

1 white onion (halved)

3 Chiles de Arbol (stemmed and seeded)

2 tomatoes (cored and halved)

2 15-ounce cans black beans

6 flour tortillas

Oil for frying

Directions

In a pot, add the water, 1 teaspoons of salt, the serrano pepper, 1 garlic clove and the chicken breasts. Bring to a boil and cook for about 25 minutes or until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Remove the serrano pepper and discard.

Remove the chicken and set aside to cool, reserve the broth. When cool enough to handle, shred the chicken or chop. Set aside.

Meanwhile, add 1 teaspoon of salt, the cascavel chilies, ancho chilies, onion, chiles de arbol, 2 garlic cloves, and the tomatoes to a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

With a slotted spoon, remove the contents and place in blender. Add 1 cup of the broth and 1 teaspoon of salt and blend until smooth.

Stir the chicken back into the pot with the reserved broth. Stir in the black beans and the pepper sauce mixture. Bring back to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and continue to cook for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the tortillas into about ½ to ¾-inch thick strips. Add enough oil to a Dutch oven or saucepan to fry. Heat to 350 degrees F. Fry the tortillas strips until crispy about 1 to 2 minutes minute, stirring frequently.

Serve the soup hot topped with the tortilla strips.