1

To Make the Roasted Garlic: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C. Break the garlic heads into cloves. Lightly crush the cloves under the flat side of a knife and remove the peels, keeping the cloves as intact as possible. Transfer to a small baking dish and add the oil. Bake until the garlic is tender and turns light beige, 30 to 40 minutes. Let the garlic cool in the dish.

2

Transfer the garlic and oil to a small, covered container. Add enough oil to completely cover the garlic. Leave the garlic intact until ready to mash. (The garlic can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 month).

3

To Make the Lime Sour Cream: Whisk the sour cream and lime juice together in a small bowl until combined.

4

To Make the Corn Salsa: Whisk the lime juice, oil, 1/8 tsp salt, and a large pinch of pepper together in a medium bowl. Add the corn and cilantro and mix well. Let stand to blend the flavors while making the soup.

5

To Make the Soup: Combine the broth and chicken in a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups/240 ml water and bring to a boil over high heat, skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the chicken shows no sign of pink when pierced at the bone, about 45 minutes. Strain through a sieve, reserving 6 cups/1.4 L of the broth.

6

Let the chicken cool until easy to handle. Cut the meat into ½-in/12-mm pieces, discarding the skin and bones.

7

Melt the butter with the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and roasted garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.

8

Process the tortilla strips in a food processor until finely ground. Add the flour and salt and pulse until combined. Stir into the vegetable mixture and mix well. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the flour mixture is lightly toasted to a medium-brown color, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, black pepper, and cayenne.

9

Gradually whisk in the broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Return the heat to medium-low. Cook at a very low simmer, stirring often to avoid scorching, until the soup is lightly thickened to a consistency similar to heavy cream, about 40 minutes. Remove from the heat. Using an immersion blender, process the soup until smooth. (Or process in batches in a standing blender, with the lid ajar.) Return to the saucepan, add the chicken, and heat over low heat until the chicken is hot, about 3 minutes.

10

Transfer the Lime Sour Cream to a plastic food-service squeeze bottle (or put it in a small self-sealing plastic bag and snip off one corner of the bag to make an opening ¼ in/6 mm wide). Ladle the soup into 6 soup bowls. Top each with a squiggle of crema from the bottle, about 2 Tbsp of the salsa, and a sprinkling of cilantro. Serve hot.

11

Grilling Corn A quick trip to the broiler or grill lightly browns the kernels of corn on the cob and heightens their sweetness. Position a broiler rack about 6 in/15 cm from the source of heat and preheat the broiler on high (or prepare an outdoor grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat). Broil (or grill) the corn, turning occasionally, until the kernels are browned in spots, about 10 minutes. Let cool. Stand the ear on its wide end and cut from top to bottom to remove the kernels where they meet the cob.