Chicken and Lime Soup

Serves 4

Inspired by the Yucatán soup sopa de lima, this soup is very chicken-y, citrus-y sour and a great way to use up citrus that’s now in season. For the stock, I prefer freshly homemade; store-bought frozen; or stock made with Better-ThanBouillon rather than a boxed version. 1 whole chicken (about 3½ to 4 pounds), gizzards, heart, neck and liver removed 8 cloves garlic, sliced thin 1 tablespoon fennel seeds 4 lime peel strips 4 lemon peel strips 3 grapefruit peel strips, optional 8 to 10 cups homemade chicken stock or chicken stock made with Better-Than-Bouillon

¼ cup lime juice

¼ cup lemon juice

Kosher salt

½ cup vegetable, grapeseed or other

fry oil

6 corn tortillas cut into ¾-inch wide

strips

Freshly ground black pepper Chopped cilantro, for serving Chopped scallions, for serving 3 limes, cut into wedges for serving 1 lemon or Meyer lemon cut into wedges for serving

To make the broth: Place the chicken in a large pot or Dutch oven with the garlic, fennel and strips from the lime, lemon and optional grapefruit. Pour enough chicken stock over the chicken to just cover it, about 8-10 cups.

Turn the heat to high; as it heats (but before it starts simmering) skim off all the foam that forms at the surface. Once simmering, cover with a lid and turn the heat down so it doesn’t boil but keeps simmering as it’s covered. Once the chicken is cooked through, registering between 150 and 165 degrees with an instant-read thermometer inserted in its thickest parts, turn off the heat, carefully lift the chicken with tongs and transfer to a sheet pan to let cool.

Add the lime juice, lemon juice to the chicken stock and season with salt. Stir well and taste. It should taste bright, citrus-y sour and very chicken-y. Set aside.

To make the tortilla chips: Heat oil in a large nonstick or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the tortilla strips, stir and toss so they are coated. Then let the strips sit and sizzle in the oil in a flat layer until they crisp and start to brown on the bottom, then repeat this process until they are mostly crisp and browned, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

To serve: Remove and shred chicken meat, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and set aside.

Bring the stock to a simmer, then pour the hot stock into the bowls along with shredded chicken and garnish with crispy tortilla strips, cilantro, scallions, black pepper and more fresh squeezed lime and lemon juice.