Sopa de Lima

Ingredients

• 600g bone-in chicken thighs
• 1.5 litres water
• 1 white onion, halved
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 tsp fine sea salt
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 400g ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 3 limas agrias, or 4 limes plus 1 wide strip of grapefruit peel
• 1 habanero chile, left whole
• 6 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips
• 200ml oil, for frying the tortillas
• 1 handful coriander leaves
• 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve

Before you cook

• Halve the onion for the broth and peel the garlic.
• Finely chop the second onion, the bell pepper and the three garlic cloves.
• Chop the tomatoes.
• Cut the tortillas into strips about 5mm wide and spread them out on a tray to dry for ten minutes.
• Halve the limas and squeeze the juice into a small bowl, keeping one squeezed half to use whole.

Steps

1. Put the chicken, halved onion, six garlic cloves, bay leaves, oregano, allspice, peppercorns and salt into a pot with 1.5 litres of water.
2. Bring it to a gentle simmer and skim off any foam.
3. Poach the chicken for thirty minutes, until it is tender and the broth smells of allspice.
4. Lift the chicken out and strain the broth into a jug.
5. Shred the chicken meat off the bones and discard the skin and bones.
6. Pour the frying oil into a small deep pan and heat it to 180C.
7. Fry the tortilla strips in two batches for about ninety seconds each, until they are crisp and pale gold, then drain them on kitchen paper and salt them at once.
8. Heat the three tablespoons of vegetable oil in the pot over medium heat.
9. Cook the chopped onion and bell pepper for six minutes, until soft.
10. Stir in the chopped garlic and cook for one minute.
11. Add the tomatoes and cook for six minutes, until they break down.
12. Pour the strained broth back in and bring it to a simmer.
13. Drop in the whole habanero and the squeezed lima half and simmer the soup for ten minutes. The chile is there for perfume, not heat, so leave it whole.
14. Fish out the habanero and the lima half and throw them away.
15. Return the shredded chicken to the pot and heat it through for three minutes.
16. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the lima juice. Adding it off the heat keeps the citrus bright rather than bitter.
17. Taste and adjust the salt and the sourness.
18. Ladle the soup into bowls, pile the crisp tortilla strips on top and scatter over the coriander, with lime wedges on the side.