Mexican Chicken Lentil Soup

2019. New year, new nothing — or new everything, depending on how you look at it. January in Boise is gray and cold and the foothills are brown and the river is low and the city hunkers down and waits for spring the way everyone in Idaho waits for spring: impatiently, stubbornly, with a space heater and a pot of soup.

Mason went back to school, second-grade veteran, reading at a fourth-grade level, carrying his rock tumbler in his backpack like it was a weapon of geological warfare. Ethan and Priya greeted him like a returning hero. The social world of a seven-year-old is small and intense and operates on rules that adults cannot perceive, and Mason navigates it with the quiet competence of someone who has figured out the system and decided to follow it exactly.

Lily went back to kindergarten with the energy of a small missile, launching herself at Mrs. Cho and Peanut the hamster with equal enthusiasm. She has settled into kindergarten the way Lily settles into everything: loudly, confidently, with the absolute certainty that every room is better for her being in it. She's not wrong.

At the clinic, new year means new goals. I set them for the team: improved client communication, better inventory management, mentorship program for new techs. I presented them at the staff meeting with a PowerPoint that Jamie helped me make (Jamie is twenty-six and can make a PowerPoint in fifteen minutes; I am thirty-five and needed two hours). The team was receptive. Dr. Pham said, "You're the best thing that's happened to this clinic in twenty years." I said, "That's a lot of pressure." He said, "You handle pressure well." He's right. I was trained by cancer. Everything else is manageable.

I made a big pot of chicken tortilla soup — the batch-cooking comfort food that has become a January staple. Chicken, black beans, corn, tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, lime. Topped with cheese and tortilla strips and sour cream. Enough for four dinners. The soup is warm and the January is cold and the kitchen is the warmest room in the house, and I stand in it and stir and feel the steam on my face and think: three years in. Three years of this life, this kitchen, this voice. And I am just getting started.

The soup I described in those last lines — the one I stirred while the steam hit my face and the kids were finally asleep — is this one, or close enough to it. I’ve made it with black beans, I’ve made it with lentils, and the lentil version is the one that became a fixture because lentils hold up better over four nights in the fridge, and four nights is exactly what January demands. It’s got everything the story has: cumin, chili powder, lime, chicken that falls apart, a broth that smells like something is going right. Top it with cheese and sour cream and whatever you have, and let the kitchen do its job.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
1 cup green or brown lentils, rinsed
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional)
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
For topping: shredded cheddar, sour cream, tortilla strips, fresh cilantro

Instructions

Sauté the aromatics. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and jalapeño and cook another minute until fragrant.
Bloom the spices. Stir in the cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, and oregano. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until the spices are toasted and fragrant.
Add liquids and lentils. Pour in the chicken broth and diced tomatoes with their juices. Add the rinsed lentils and stir to combine. Nestle the whole chicken breasts or thighs into the pot.
Simmer. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 25–30 minutes, until the lentils are tender and the chicken is cooked through (internal temp 165°F).
Shred the chicken. Remove the chicken pieces to a cutting board and shred with two forks. Return the shredded chicken to the pot.
Add beans and corn. Stir in the black beans and corn. Simmer uncovered for another 5–8 minutes until heated through and slightly thickened. Season with salt, pepper, and lime juice to taste.
Serve. Ladle into bowls and top with shredded cheddar, sour cream, tortilla strips, and fresh cilantro. Stores well refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Mexican Chicken Lentil Soup — The Pot I Stir When January Feels Like a Beginning