Chipotle Chicken Soup

Soup in July??? I know, I know - but it has actually been a touch cooler than usual here, and I love fall so much sometimes I like to pretend...besides, soup is good food! Again, I need to thank Joe at Culinary in the Desert for the great review which inspired using this recipe!

Last night we had Chipotle Chicken Soup. Easy?? You bet! This soup came together very quickly. The most time consuming part was pre-cooking then shredding the chicken. After that, it is as simple as opening a can of chicken broth, opening a can of beans, opening a can of tomatoes - you get the point.

The recipe called for kidney beans, which I have no love for. I subbed pintos with great results. I would imagine black beans would also be fabulous as well. I made it in advance, chilled it, then re-heated for dinner. I decided to follow the directions and use my potato masher to chunk up the beans and tomatoes and am glad I did. The immersion blender would have made it too smooth.

I chose to wait until the re-heating to add the already cooked chicken. During the reheating process, I added another cup of broth, noticing that the soup had gotten much thicker with the chicken.

As for serving, the recipe called for adding a teaspoon of olive oil to each bowl. I chose not to, and it wasnt missed. I didnt have any sour cream and had used all my cilantro, so this time, there was no garnish. In the future, I can imagine shredded cheese; crushed tortilla chips; chopped green onions...anything your garnish-minded imagination can come up with.

Dinner was served with a homemade sourdough, some cheese, and wine. The chipotle pepper added a touch of smoky heat, but nothing too intense. Next time I will use fire-roasted tomatoes in place of the regular diced. Major smiles and thumbs up were given to this dinner, and this recipe. It will be a keeper!

Chipotle Chicken and Tomato Soup (Adapted from CL)
1 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
15 1/2 oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
14 1/2 oz can stewed tomatoes (I used diced and will use fire-roasted next time)
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce, --finely chopped
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat - add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in cumin, beans, tomatoes, broth and chile. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Partially mash tomatoes and beans with a potato masher. Stir in chicken and cook just until heated through, about 2 minutes.

2. To serve, place roughly 1 1/4 cups soup in each of four bowls. Drizzle each serving with a teaspoon of oil, 2 tablespoons sour cream and 1 tablespoon cilantro.