By New Year's. We drove home from Las Cruces on the thirtieth. The drive back is different from the drive down — the anticipation replaced by a full feeling, the kind you get from a week of being exactly where you're supposed to be. The kids slept most of the way back too. Diego, who is fourteen and technically too old to sleep in the car, slept in the car.
Annual review. 2019: won a state championship. Diego started varsity next year. Lisa got a promotion. Dad's heart stable for now. These are the big markers. But the year also contained things that don't make the list: the night I told my entire staff about sobriety for the first time; the Saturday I sat with Diego at the tailgate and watched him explain coverage schemes to his friends; the posole I made at midnight after the semifinal win because I couldn't sleep; the moment Hector said "I want to see you hold that trophy." These are the real contents of a year.
I've been sober for three years now. I don't announce it the way some people do. I don't celebrate it publicly. But I note it. I note it every year because the man I was in 2016 needed me to become the man I am in 2020 and the distance between those two men is the measure of the work. I made it. I'm still making it.
Made tamale soup on New Year's Day — leftover tamales from Las Cruces, broken up in a red chile broth with onion and oregano. A dish born of leftover abundance, which is its own kind of luxury. The kids ate it while watching a bowl game I had no investment in. I sat with them. I let myself be nothing but present for three hours. This is the practice. Every year I get a little better at it.
The tamale soup I made that New Year’s Day wasn’t a recipe so much as an instinct — leftover masa and pork broken into red chile broth, the kind of dish that only exists because something good came before it. This Fiesta Chorizo-Chicken Soup is the version I’d make when I don’t have a week’s worth of Las Cruces tamales sitting in the fridge, but I still need that same warmth: smoky, a little spicy, something you can sit with for three hours while a bowl game plays and nobody asks anything of you. It’s a present-tense kind of food.
Fiesta Chorizo-Chicken Soup
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb fresh chorizo, casings removed
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced fire-roasted tomatoes
- 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Juice of 1 lime
- Optional toppings: sour cream, shredded cheddar, sliced jalapeños, fresh cilantro, warm tortillas
Instructions
- Brown the chorizo. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat, cook the chorizo, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate, leaving 1 tablespoon of drippings in the pot.
- Sear the chicken. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Add to the pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned on the outside, about 4–5 minutes. The chicken does not need to be fully cooked through at this stage.
- Build the base. Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika. Stir and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add the liquids and tomatoes. Pour in the chicken broth, then add the fire-roasted tomatoes and green chiles. Stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Simmer. Return the chorizo to the pot. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the broth has deepened in color and flavor.
- Add beans and corn. Stir in the black beans and frozen corn. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes until everything is heated through.
- Finish with lime. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with sour cream, shredded cheddar, jalapeños, and cilantro as desired. Serve with warm tortillas on the side.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 340 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 24g | Fiber: 6g | Sodium: 680mg