Green Chile Chowder

 

*photo from Homesick Texan

Let me tell you, Lisa of the Homesick Texan is my kind of girl. I don't think I've come across any recipe on her site that I haven't wanted to try right away. Her Tex-Mex recipes are definitely the kind of things I would eat every day if I could.

This soup caught my eye because 1) I love a good, new soup recipe and 2) I thought it might be a good place to start for a different recipe I've been anxious to work on, a green chile clam chowder. But that will be another post for another day, once I can get that one going!

This soup is fantastic. It a warm, creamy chowder with just a hint of spice from the chiles. The original recipe suggest serving this either hot with some cheese or cold with some extra lime and tortilla chips. Since a hot soup was what I was looking for, I did it hot with cheese, extra lime, and tortilla chips. Yum. :)

The only thing I would do differently next time is save a little more of the soup chunky and not puree as much, but that is a personal preference because I wished it was little more hearty once we sat down to eat. 

Green Chile Chowder 
from Homesick Texan

Ingredients

2 jalapenos
4 poblano peppers
1 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup cilantro
2 lbs. of potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup half and half
Juice from one lime
Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook the poblanos and jalapenos under the broiler for about five minutes on each side or until thoroughly blackened. (The jalapenos will probably cook faster so remove them first) Place poblanos in a paper bag, close it and let them steam for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, remove stems from jalapenos and dice. After 15 minutes, take the poblanos out of the bag and rub off the skin. Remove seeds and stem and then dice the chiles.

2. In a large pot, heat on medium the butter until it’s melted. Add the onions and cook them for 10 minutes or just until they’re about to brown. Throw in the garlic and cook for another minute. Add to the pot the chiles, the potatoes, the chicken broth, the cilantro, the cumin, salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

3. Scoop out 2 cups of the soup and set aside. Puree the rest of the soup until smooth and then mix the smooth with the chunky. Add the milk and half and half to the soup and cook until warm. Squeeze in the lime juice and serve either warm or chilled, with cheese, tortilla chips and extra cilantro.