Averie Cooks

Make the Tortilla Strips:
2 Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with a Silpat or foil to save cleanup time.
3 Loosely scatter the tortilla strips, evenly drizzle with olive oil, evenly sprinkle with kosher salt, toss with hands to coat evenly, and bake for about 15 to 18 minutes, or until crisp and lightly golden brown; set aside.
4 While strips bake, begin making the soup.
Make the Soup:
7 To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and heat over medium-high heat to warm.
8 Add the onion, jalapeno, and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Stir intermittently.
9 Add the garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir intermittently.
10 Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and juice, black beans, chicken, corn, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, 2 teaspoons salt, pepper, smoked paprika, optional cayenne pepper, and bring to a boil.
11 Allow mixture to boil gently for about 5 to 7 minutes. If at any point the overall liquid level looks low or you prefer your soup to have more broth, add 1 to 2 cups of water; you’ll adjust the salt and seasoning levels at the end.
12 Add the cilantro and boil 1 minute.
13 Taste soup and add salt to taste. This will vary based on how salty the chicken broth, tomatoes, black beans, and rotisserie chicken are, and personal preference. Make any necessary seasoning adjustments (i.e. more salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, etc.).
14 Ladle soup into bowls, top with tortilla strips to taste, optionally garnish with avocado, cheese and/or sour cream; serve immediately.