The following soup is a relatively easy version of “Sopa de Lima” or “Lime Soup”, a specialty of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. It’s a chicken soup flavored with fiery habanero, cinnamon, clove, and tangy limes. The limes that are used in the Yucatan are a slightly different variety than what is easily available here, but standard Persian limes will work fine. The soup is tangy from limes, smoothed with the buttery richness of avocados, and enjoys a little crunch from fried tortilla strips added for garnish. It’s reminiscent of both pozole and tortilla soup, but with somewhat different spices and a strong hit of lime. Habanero chiles are extremely hot. Handle them with care. Either wear gloves while prepping, or wash your hands thoroughly after handling and do not touch your eyes. We’ve called for boneless thighs in this recipe. You could easily use whole bone-in thighs, for a deeper flavor from the bones, just cook a little longer and remove the meat from the bones to shred. Working in batches, gently scatter a handful of tortilla strips in the hot oil. Turn with metal tongs so that the tortilla strips are separated. Cook for a few minutes or until the strips just begin to color. Remove them to a paper towel lined plate. When I make these after I add the tortilla strips I increase the heat of the burner to compensate for the tortilla strips lowering the temperature of the oil. Once the tortilla strips start to color I lower the temperature to keep the oil from getting too hot. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to maintain a low simmer. Cover and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked through. Serve garnished with fried tortilla strips, chopped avocado, and cilantro.
