Chicken Soup with Lime and Avocado
This very easy Mexican soup is the perfect weeknight meal. It doesn’t require much effort, it’s low calorie, high in protein and comforting on a winter evening. Cooked chicken breast, lime juice, cilantro, onions, tomatoes and avocado combine to create a hearty yet refreshing winter meal. Serve with warm corn or cassava tortillas. Avocados are a wonderful source of healthy fat and shockingly rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. A single avocado offers 14 grams of fiber and 22% of your daily value for vitamin C, 28% for vitamin E, 56% for vitamin B5 and 30% for vitamin B6. The healthy fat in avocados supports heart health as do its many antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. One might even say that an avocado a day keeps the doctor away!
Makes: 4 servings
Time to cook: 30 minutes
Ingredients
· 2 quarts chicken stock, preferably homemade, or 1 quart commercial low-sodium chicken broth and 1 quart water
· 1 medium onion, finely chopped
· 1 garlic clove, minced
· 1 serrano or jalapeño chile, seeded if desired and minced
· 1 pound tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced, or 1 (14-ounce) can, drained
· 1 cup shredded cooked chicken breast
· ¼ cup chopped cilantro
· 1 to 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (to taste), plus thin slices of lime for garnish
· 1 avocado, cut in small dice or thinly sliced
· Corn tortilla crisps for garnish
Cooking Instructions
1. Bring the chicken stock to a simmer, add the onion, garlic and chile and simmer 15 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, and simmer for another five minutes. Taste and adjust salt, then stir in the chicken breast and chopped cilantro. Cover and let sit for five minutes. Add the lime juice.
3. Divide the avocado between four soup bowls. Ladle in the soup, place a slice of lime on each bowl, and serve with crisp corn tortilla
TIP: Advance preparation: You can make this through step 1 several hours or even a day ahead.
Nutrition per serving
344 calories; 15 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 29 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 12 gram sugars; 26 grams protein; 565 milligrams sodium.
Recipe by Martha RoseShulman, The NY Times
