Williams-Sonoma cookbooks are highly addictive and Soup of the Day: 365 Recipes for Every Day of the Year
After going through the book I decided on trying the Spicy Corn Soup on page 156. I adapted the recipe by making it vegetarian (I left the bacon out and added a bit of oil), using all milk (it called for 1 cup of cream + 4 cups milk) and blended the soup till smooth. I am sure it would tasted delicious with the bacon. Oh, I am 100% sure on that. But alas, I was good and stuck to our no-meat policy. It was hard I will tell you!
While out shopping for the ingredients I was frustrated to not find any fresh poblano chiles in the produce department, although while staring at the chiles offered, it occurred to me that the ones marked pasilla peppers looked a lot like them. I find nearly every day I wonder what I did before I had a smartphone. Oh yeah, I remember. I’d call Kirk on my dumbphone and ask him to Google my question. Or I went home and came back. Both awful options. Instead I asked the search engine what I could substitute and hey, what exactly a pasilla was. And got my answer in a blink. They were poblanos after all. Apparently in the US many grocery stores sell them under the other name, even though pasilla refers to a different chile that is dried! Sheesh. So glad I was able to figure that out 😉 Maybe I need to shop in the chile section more! At least I didn’t have to ask the produce department workers any dumb questions…hah!
Spicy Corn Soup
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil (such as canola or sunflower)
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
- 4 celery ribs, chopped
- 1 large poblano chile, seeded and chopped
- 1 tsp garlic, minced (2 cloves)
- 5 cups low-fat milk
- 2 large white or yellow potatoes (or termed “boiling” potatoes), cut into small cubes
- 3 cups frozen corn
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
Directions:
In a large heavy pot over medium heat add the oil, onion, celery, chile and garlic, saute for 7 minutes or until lightly browned.
Turn up to medium high, add the milk and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
Stir in the corn and red pepper flakes, cook for 5 minutes or until heated through.
Take off the stove and process in 2 to 3 batches in a blender until smooth (I used our Vitamix). Return to the pot and heat thru if needed.
Serves 6.
PS: The original recipe called for 3 slices bacon chopped and no oil. It is up to you of course.
PS2: If you have leftover soup, heat it up and toss with fresh cooked pasta for an easy lunch. Tasty with sharp cheddar cheese added in….
PS3: I really, really love our Vitamix blender. It took me years to realize how much I wanted one. After Kirk talked me into it, well, I haven’t regretted it. 30 seconds to silky smooth soup!
~Sarah
FTC Disclaimer: We received a preview copy of the book.
Corn soup with a kick would be tasty. I always like a chowder, but this is a bit new. Love soup cookbooks and the wonders that come from them!