Chicken Tortilla Soup

A good tortilla soup is probably my all time favorite comfort food and something I often order at my fav mexican restaurants.  A few years ago, I started "making" it on my own.  When I first tried to find a recipe, I was SO surprised at the variety out there.  In fact there really wasn't much of a common thread between any of them - no traditional recipe like I thought there would be!  Over the last few years, I have tried multiple recipes - varying between fresh chiles, canned chiles, dried chiles, different broths, different spices and although there have been some decent soups, I've never been really satisfied with any outcome.  It was always too spicy, not spicy enough, not a rich enough broth flavor (a good broth is really the key).  So last week, I decided I was going to start one on my own and see what I came up with.  I did my research on flavors I wanted and what I should use to get it there and in the end, came up with a pretty good concoction.  I think that it is a recipe I would like to still work on, but I have to say that I was very pleased and consider it a REALLY good start.  Start to finish, expect about 1 and 1/2-2 hours for this soup (it's a good one to do on the weekends).

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Serves 4-6
8 c. chicken stock
2 c. water
2 Tbs vegetable oil
3-4 dried new mexico chiles
4 dried ancho or negro chiles
1 white onion
6 cloves garlic
4 lrg. sprigs of thyme
1 tsp. paprika
1 Tbs oregano
1 Tbs. ground corriander
1 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. ground chipotle powder
salt
2 grilled, seasoned chicken breasts
cilantro, chopped
fried tortilla strips
avocado
queso fresco, crumbled

Place dried chiles in a bowl and cover with boiling water.  Let stand to rehydrate for about 20 minutes.  In a food processor, pulse the onion and garlic untile very finely chopped (if you don't have a food processor, just chop them as fine as you can).  Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Remove the chiles from the water and remove the stems from the chiles (water may drain out).  Puree in a food processor or blender until they become paste-like.  Add the chile puree  to the onions and cook until flavors come well together and onions start to brown, about 15 minutes.  Add the both, water, thyme sprigs, and spices.  Increase heat to bring the soup to a boil, then reduce down to med-low and simmer for at least half an hour, but longer if possible in order for flavors to best come together.  Before serving, remove the thyme sprigs and add salt to taste.

Meanwhile, slice corn tortillas into thin strips and fry, then toss with salt.  Season both sides of the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder and ground chipotle powder.  Then, grill (or saute) until cooked through (about 7 mins per side).  Once cool, slice or shred into small pieces.

When ready to serve, place some diced chicken and cilantro in the bottom of the bowls.  Ladel the soup over top.  Garnish with fried tortilla strips, avocado and queso fresco.