From “Jewish penicillin” with matzo balls, a German version with spaetzle, Greek with lemon and egg, Chinese with wontons, Vietnamese with lemongrass, Peruvian with potatoes, to an Italian version with pasta, chicken soups are found in cuisines worldwide. Tortilla soup is one of the world’s greatest soups, chicken or otherwise, and a personal favorite. It’s a chicken soup with warm, unctuous cubes of cheese and avocado that make luxurious textural contrasts to the crisp tortilla strips or chips. There’s no better antidote to a cold or the flu — or even a cold grey day, for that matter.

TORTILLA SOUP 2 T. unhydrogenated lard* or vegetable oil, divided 1c. coarsely chopped white onion 2-4 cloves chopped garlic 2/3 c. drained canned tomatoes or peeled, seeded and chopped fresh tomatoes 6 c. chicken stock, preferably homemade*.

If using commercial stock, be sure it’s low sodium Salt to taste 4 to 6 stale corn tortillas, preferably white corn, or substitute white corn tortilla chips, brushed to remove as much salt as possible ½ c. corn or vegetable oil, plus additional if necessary 4-6 pasilla chiles 1 ½ c. cubed queso fresco or farmer’s cheese 1 ½ c. cubed ripe Haas avocado (1-2 avocados) 1-2 c. cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces lime wedges for garnish

In a medium skillet, preferably non-stick, heat 1 T. of the lard or oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and stir to coat the vegetables. Cover the skillet and let the vegetables sweat until they have softened, about 5 minutes. Uncover the skillet, lower the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions and garlic have caramelized to a dark golden color, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and put in the container of an electric blender or food processor. Add the tomato and process until smooth.

Return the skillet to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon of lard or oil and heat over medium high heat. Add the onion/tomato mixture and stir-fry until the mixture has thickened and is much darker, about 5 minutes. Scrape the mixture into a large pot. Add the chicken stock to the pot and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat so that it is barely simmering, cover, and cook for at least 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt. If the tortillas are not stale, spread in a single layer and let them dry out for 10-15 minutes. Cut the tortillas in half, then cut the halves into half-inch strips. Heat the ½ c. oil in a large skillet (a wok works especially well) and add the tortilla strips. Fry the tortilla strips, tossing constantly, until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels.

Add more oil to the pan if necessary so that one of the pasilla chiles can fry in it. Heat the oil, then fry the pasillas one at a time, just until they are puffed and crisp, turning as necessary. This should only take a few seconds. Drain on paper towels.

Add the chicken to the simmering broth and let the chicken heat through. Divide the cheese and avocado cubes among 4-6 warmed soup plates. Ladle the broth into the bowls and top with the tortilla strips.

Serve with a toasted pasilla chile alongside each dish, so that each diner can crumble in as much of the chile as he or she desires. Pass the lime wedges. The lime juice heightens the flavors in the soup.

Serves 4-6

* Past RealCuisine columns about unhydrogenated lard and where to buy it (Food’s Four-Letter Word, 10/23/08), and making chicken stock (Taking Stock, 1/4/07) can be found on the Illinois Times Web site, www.illinoistimes.com.