Turning our favorite enchilada recipe into soup

Layered Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Cilantro Sauce is a favorite dish for us.  Since I didn’t want us both to mutiny too soon on this new dietary challenge, I decided to try to take some of our favorite recipes, turn them into soup, and try to make them healthier.  Here is the first of such experiments:

Tomatillo Chicken Soup

2 pounds large tomatillos, husked, rinsed, halved  (If you can’t find fresh tomatillos, you can use a prepared tomatillo salsa or sauce and delete garlic, onions, jalapeno, and cilantro below.)
3 1/4 cups low-salt chicken broth, divided
10 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
2 cups green onions, washed, cleaned and sliced
1 bunch fresh cilantro, washed and chopped
1 large jalapeno, deseeded and chopped
1 chicken breast, poached and shredded
1 cup half and half
Shredded Colby/Jack cheese for garnish
flour tortillas cut in strips and baked until golden for garnish (See below for directions.)

Place tomatillos, 1 1/4 cups chicken broth, and garlic cloves in large saucepan.  Cover and bring mixture to boil.  Reduce heat; simmer gently until tomatillos are soft, about 10 minutes.  Transfer hot mixture to blender.  (You may have to do this in batches.)  Add sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, and chopped jalapeno; blend mixture to coarse puree.  Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.  Return to saucepan.

Add shredded chicken, remaining 2 cups chicken broth and half and half.  Simmer until heated through, about 15 minutes.   Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with shredded cheese and tortilla strips. (See recipe below.)

Tortilla Strips

To make tortilla strips, stack desired amount of tortillas and cut with a pizza cutter.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place strips on a cooking sheet and brush with a little olive oil.  Sprinkle with sea salt.  Bake for about 5 minutes or until golden and crispy.

Tomatillo

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