Sopa de Lima (Yucatán Chicken Lime Soup)
I recall it just like it was yesterday. Twenty-five years ago, I had the joy of spending my junior year in college abroad, studying a semester in Mérida, Mexico, and another in Oviedo, Spain. The highlight was my time in Mérida, where I stayed with a one-of-a-kind host mother who had the gift for gab and a knack for cooking traditional recipes from the Yucatán Peninsula. These dishes are known for blending tangy citrus fruit, like lemon and limes, with chilies, like fiery habañeros and smoky chile anchos. Here, I’ve altered my host mother's recipe by beefing up the contents and adding more of my own mix of chile dulces (mini sweet peppers), onion, tomato, lime, and chicken. Despite being naturally low in fat and carbs, this soup is not lacking in flavor by any means. It is one of my go to comfort foods! Note: omitting the chicken and substituting vegetable for chicken broth can make this soup vegan and vegetarian.
Ingredients
- 2 large white onions
- 1 bag mini sweet peppers, I prefer del Cabo Organic Sweet Pepper Medley*
- 5 ripe tomatoes, like tomatoes on the vine
- 7 cups chicken broth
- 2 skinless chicken breasts (1 ½ lb.)
- 1 ½ t. Mexican oregano
- ¼-½ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Juice of ¾ lime, half of lime with its rind
- ½ t. sea salt or more to taste
- ½ t. ground black pepper
- *Note: I hunt for a bag with the most orange and red peppers since I find their flavor sweeter than the yellow peppers.
Directions
- Step 1 Prep the vegetables. Remove the outer skin of the onions and cut in quarters. Toss into a food processor, if you have one on hand, and pulse until diced. Scrape the onions into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Next, cut the tops off the sweet peppers and split open each pepper with your finger, dunking them in a bowl with water to remove their seeds. Then, pulse the peppers in a food processor until they’re diced and add them to the mixing bowl with the onions. Next, slice the tomatoes in quarters and pulse in a food processor until they’re diced. Add to a mixing bowl separate from the peppers and onions. Note: if you don’t have the luxury of a food processor, you can chop the vegetables by hand, but it will increase the prep time.
- Step 2 Prep the chicken. Slice the chicken in bite-size strips and pat dry to remove any moisture that could prevent a good sear. Afterwards, season with salt, pepper, and oregano and reserve in a third mixing bowl, which is separate from the onions/sweet peppers and tomatoes,
- Step 3 Cook the vegetables. To begin the cooking process, heat 2 T. of olive oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes. When hot, toss the onion and peppers into the skillet and sauté for 10-12 minutes or until the onion is translucent (see photo below). After this, add the tomatoes and cook for another 10-12 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft. Then, remove from heat and scrape the vegetables into a large mixing bowl.
- Step 4 Cook the chicken. Next, heat the remaining 2 T. of olive oil in the skillet over medium-high heat until glistening. After 2-3 minutes, place a layer of chicken in the bottom of the skillet and sauté without moving for 4-5 minutes. This will allow the chicken to sear. After 4-5 minutes, flip the chicken over and cook for 4-5 more minutes. Remove from heat.
- Step 5 Put together and cook the soup. Combine the chicken and vegetables (the peppers, onion, and tomatoes) with the chicken broth in a 6-7-quart stockpot. Turn the heat up to high until it comes to a boil, then you can turn down to a simmer. Meanwhile, chop the cilantro by rolling it into a cigar and slicing it. This will prevent the cilantro from turning dark and watery.* Add the cilantro to the soup, along with the juice of 3/4 of a lime and 1/2 the lime in its entirety. After you bring the soup to a boil, be sure to remove the lime rinds or it will lend a bitter taste to the soup. Serve hot and buen provecho or bon appétit!
This adapted, time-honored soup from the Yucatán features a blend of sweet mini peppers, which is accented by a sour tang of freshly squeezed lime juice. Naturally low in carbs and fat, this soup still abounds in flavor and can be made vegetarian and vegan.
The sweet peppers and onions being sautéed.
Nutritional Information: serving size: 2.1 cups, servings per recipe: 7, calories: 192.6, total fat: 10 g., saturated fat: 1.4 g., cholesterol: 39.9 g., sodium: 1423 mg., total carbohydrate: 13.1 g., dietary fiber: 2.8 g., total sugars: 8.1 g., protein: 14.3 g., calcium: 42.1 mg., iron: 112.7 mg., potassium: 537.3 mg., magnesium: 33.3 mg., vitamin D: 0.7 IU, vitamin C: 127.3 mg., vitamin B-1: 168.3 mg., folate: 36 µg.
SOURCES:
Briwa, Bill. The Culinary Institute of America. The Everyday Gourmet. Rediscovering the Lost Art of Cooking. The Teaching Company, 2012.