Chicken Tortilla Chowder -- The Day My Taste Came Back

I tested positive for COVID. The plant was the likely source — a coworker on Jerome's team tested positive on Monday, and by Wednesday my throat was scratching and by Friday the rapid test confirmed it. I went into quarantine in the apartment. Alone. Sick. Scared. The symptoms were mild, the doctor said. Fever, cough, fatigue, loss of taste. Loss of taste. The cruelest symptom for a man who has spent three years learning to taste, to season, to adjust, to detect the difference between "good" and "right." The virus took my taste, and with it, it took my connection to the food that has been my salvation. I made chicken soup (Mama's recipe, from memory) and could not taste it. The broth was warm. The noodles were there. But the flavor — the layered, complex, healing flavor that has saved me every time the world broke — was gone. I cried standing at the stove. Not about the virus. About the taste. About the cruelty of losing the one thing that made me feel like myself. Mama left soup on my doorstep. Her soup. She drove across town during a pandemic, cooked for hours, sealed it in a container, drove to my apartment, left it on the mat, rang the bell, and was in her car before I opened the door. I opened the container and the smell hit me before the taste could not — the smell of Cheryl Carter's kitchen, of forty years of chicken and garlic and love. I could smell it. The taste would come back. But the smell was there, and the smell was enough. I quarantined for two weeks. The kids could not visit. Brianna sent worried texts. Jerome checked in daily. Mama called twice a day. Dad called once and said, "Get better. The Tigers need a fan who's alive." Dad humor, flat and perfect. The taste came back on day nine. Slowly, like dawn — first the basics (salt, sweet, sour), then the nuances (garlic, herbs, smoke). I made eggs and tasted them and the taste was back and I stood in my kitchen and felt the world restore itself, one flavor at a time.

When the taste came back on day nine — first the salt, then the garlic, then the smoke — I didn’t want to waste it on something simple. I wanted something layered, something that would announce itself: warm broth, chicken, the slow heat of chili, the substance of corn and tortilla. Chicken Tortilla Chowder was exactly that — the kind of bowl that earns its place at the stove, the kind that would’ve made Mama nod. After two weeks of tasting nothing, every spoonful felt like a small miracle, and I wasn’t taking a single one for granted.

Chicken Tortilla Chowder

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
• 1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 6 small corn tortillas, cut into thin strips
• 1 cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese
• Sour cream, fresh cilantro, and lime wedges for serving

Instructions

1. Sear the chicken. Heat olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook 4–5 minutes until golden on the outside. Transfer to a plate; chicken does not need to be fully cooked through at this stage.
2. Build the base. Reduce heat to medium. In the same pot, add onion and cook 3–4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and jalapeño and cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly, until fragrant.
3. Bloom the spices. Add cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Stir to coat the vegetables and cook 30 seconds until the spices are fragrant and toasted.
4. Add the liquid and solids. Pour in the chicken broth and diced tomatoes with green chiles. Add black beans and corn, then return the seared chicken to the pot. Stir to combine.
5. Simmer. Bring the chowder to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the flavors have melded.
6. Finish with cream. Stir in the heavy cream and simmer an additional 5 minutes on low heat. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
7. Crisp the tortilla strips. While the chowder simmers, arrange tortilla strips on a baking sheet, lightly spray with cooking spray, and bake at 400°F for 8–10 minutes until golden and crisp. Alternatively, pan-fry in a skillet with a small amount of oil.
8. Serve. Ladle chowder into bowls. Top with shredded cheese, crispy tortilla strips, a dollop of sour cream, fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 420 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 32g | Fiber: 6g | Sodium: 680mg