10 min

45 min

Directions

Ingredients

Step 1

In a large soup pot, add 8-10 cups of water, add the chicken, bay leaves, head of garlic with the top cut open, 1/2 of the onion, guajillo chiles, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pot and shred to your desired size, set aside.

Step 2

In a large skillet on medium heat, add the oil, the remaining half onion, the chopped tomatoes and cook stirring often for 4-5 minutes. Add the cumin, onion salt and the two whole chipotle peppers. Cook for another 3-4 minutes, or until the tomatoes have started releasing their juices.

Step 3

Remove the guajillo chiles from the pot with the chicken, add them to a blender along with the sautéed tomato mixture. Blend until smooth.

Step 4

Add the chopped carrots, garbanzo beans, and the puréed tomato mixture to the pot of water. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.

Step 5

Remove the bay leaves, head of garlic and the half onion from the pot.

Step 6

Add the shredded chicken back to the pot along with the diced zucchini or calabacitas. Continue cooking on a medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until the veggies are for tender.

Step 7

Lastly taste the broth for seasoning, adjust salt/pepper if needed. If using, stir in the cilantro at this point, turn the heat off. The cilantro will wilt quickly and impart its flavor into the broth immediately.

Step 8

For the panela, you can cube up the panela to serve into your soup bowls, or cut the panela into planks, sear them in a skillet for 2-3 minutes per side, they get perfectly golden brown on the outside and slightly soft on the inside.

Step 9

To serve your caldo(soup), ladle the soup into your serving bowl, add a slice of the seared panela, I used both the seared panela and cubed panela. Top with cubed avocado, mexican crema, crushed tortilla chips, squeeze of lime juice and an extra whole chipotle pepper in adobo(if using).