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1
Place chili in small, heatproof bowl, pour boiling water over and let soak for 30 minutes.
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2
Drain, remove stem and seeds and slice into 1/2 inch strips and set aside.
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3
In heave Dutch oven or soup pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat.
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4
Add chicken, season with salt and pepper, brown both sides, about 10 minutes total.
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5
Add onion, carrots and celery and continue to cook about 8 minutes, stirring often.
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6
Add garlic and cumin and cook an additional 2 minutes.
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7
Add broth, reserved chili, tomatoes and cilantro and bring to a boil.
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8
Reduce heat and simmer about 15 minutes.
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9
With your hands, tear 3 tortillas into 2-inch strips and add to soup.
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10
Continue to simmer about 15 minutes.
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11
With slotted spoon, remove chicken to a cutting board, take soup off heat.
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12
With an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth (or puree in small batches in a food processor.
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13
With tow forks, shred chicken, return to soup.
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14
Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.
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15
Slice remaining tortillas into 1/4 inch strips.
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16
In small saucepan, heat 1 inch of vegetable oil until very hot.
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17
Fry tortilla strips until crisp, about 1 minute.
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18
With slotted spoon, remove strips to paper-towel-lined plate and season with salt.
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19
Serve soup in bowls topped with tortilla strips and any or all of the optional garnishes to include sliced avocado, cheese, sour cream, salsa, lime wedges and/or Cilantro.
