Poblano Cream Soup
4-5 Poblano Peppers chopped (roasted over fire, until the skin blisters is removed then de-seed & chop.)
1 Yellow onion chopped
1 Celery Root Ball, peeled and chopped
1 large or 5 small potatoes peeled and chopped
1 bunch of cilantro chopped
1/2 cup of basil chopped
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1 Beef Soup Bone (optional, gives the soup more flavor and fat.)
Water or Beef or Chicken stock
1/2 cup wine or cooking sherry
1/2 cup to a cup of heavy cream or milk
salt & pepper to taste
Garnish with: shredded cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, bacon bits, sour cream, salsa, shredded chicken, beef or pork or chopped cilantro.
ROASTING THE PEPPERS: First, to intensify the flavor of the peppers for this soup, it is important to roast them over open fire on your grill or gas stove. Simply wash the peppers, then set them directly on the grill or fire. You will see, hear and smell the skin burning on the pepper. Blister the peppers until the skin is black all over, equally. Once the entire pepper is nice and charred, then stick them in a paper sack or plastic ziploc bag and close the bag. The steam from the hot peppers will help make your job of removing the skin even easier. The longer you leave it, the better. Then once entirely cool, remove the peppers from the bag and cut off the top of the pepper and the stem. If you are lucky, a large part of the seeds and veins of the pepper will come out when you pull the top away. If not, simply slice the pepper open down one side and lay it flat on your cutting board. Scrape the seeds and veins inside the pepper with a knife or spoon. Remove and discard any seeds. Then flip the pepper over on your cutting board and with a sharp knife gently scrape away just the blistered layer of charred skin, revealing the soft mossy green pepper underneath. Chop the pepper into pieces.
Take a soup pot and fill it with 6-8 cups of water or chicken or beef stock or a combination of both. Add the soup bones all of the rest of the chopped vegetables and herbs and the sherry or wine. Season with salt and pepper to taste and bring all ingredients to a boil. Boil until the potatoes are tender and the liquid in the pot has reduced almost in half. This just intensifies the flavors of the soup.
Take your blender or food processor and scoop out all vegetables and herbs from the pot into the food processor. You may need to do this in batches. Puree all vegetables together, begin to add back in a little (maybe a 1/4 of a cup) of the soup broth for flavor and to loosen it a little. Not too much, because you still need to add the cream or milk which will also loosen the soup.
Final step add 1/2 cup of cream or milk to the soup in the processor or blender and taste. If it needs more seasoning or salt, add it. If it is still too thick, more milk or broth. If it is too runny add more vegetables from your stock pot or return it to the stove to cook it down a bit more. It should be creamy, but not watery or runny soup. I like it thicker.
Top with shredded cheddar cheese and corn tortilla chips etc. and serve.
FOODIE NOTE: I am absolutely lousy with Poblano peppers this time of year. We plant one little plant in our herb garden and by August we are a hot pepper family. I have roasted and stuffed them with ground beef, rice and cheese for dinner and I have chopped them into sauces and salsa's for a smokey hot kick . . .but I still have a bunch of them on hand.
That's when you need a friend who has a green thumb and who also happens to be a great cook. I met Rebecca Walker-Garoutte through her husband, Jeff Garoutte who happens to work with my husband at Propaganda 3.
Rebecca is in charge of the Greenhouse at JCCC which grows plants, vegetables and herbs that the culinary program uses in their dishes. Her and her husband came to our July 4th pool party this year and she brought a stunner of a dish: "Green Tomato Salsa". It was full of green tomatoes, tomatillos, fresh hot peppers and herbs and was fantastic with chips.
I just saw her this week at the T-bones game, where my husband, Eatie, has won the use of a suite in an auction. He invited his whole office and several of Tastie's friends and parents to join us at the game.
We were comparing notes on tomatoes this year and I mentioned to her my poblano pepper problem. She told me she made this Poblano Cream Soup for her parents from a wagon-load full of produce left over from the greenhouse and that it turned out delicious.
It would have never occurred to me to make a soup out of poblano peppers, but it sounded tasty. The great part about a recipe like this is you can clean out your produce drawer and it will still taste amazing every time. No matter what vegetables you have on hand, as long as you have poblano's and potatoes you can't go wrong.
I made this soup this week, and it is so good I have had it everyday for at least 3 days straight. It is mild with a touch of smokey heat in the background. It's like the best southwestern soup you have ever tasted.
When I talk to people about joining a community supported agriculture group or CSA to get their veggies and/or meat from, many times I hear: "I am just never sure what to do with some of the things I get and so it goes bad and I feel like I am throwing my money away."
If you aren't into the "Iron-Chef-secret-ingredient" of it all, like we are at my house, then all you have to remember is this: when you have exhausted your creativity and talent, and your veggie drawer is about to go bad . . .there is only one thing left to do . . . make soup. Enjoy!
I'm soooo all about the "secret ingredient" type of cooking...it's FUN! This is first season that I won't be gardening much - too much travel this Fall - so maybe time to join CSA!
Posted by: jaden | August 29, 2009 at 06:56 PM