Chicken Poblano Soup

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Soup season is upon us, and I’m pretty happy about that. During the fall and winter months I usually make a pot of chili or soup at least once a week. It makes me feel good to have something nice and hot around to have for lunch or dinner. This creamy chicken and poblano soup is a new one for me. I was flipping though Magnolia Table Volume 2 by Joanna Gaines and this one caught my eye so I thought I’d give it a try. I made some of my own tweaks to it with the amount of veggies and stock, plus I changed up the garnish at the end with some cheese and tortilla chips. Here’s all you need:

• one stick of unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups each of diced onion, celery and carrots
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (ore more to your liking)
• 2-3 medium poblano peppers seeded and diced
• 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper – plus more to taste
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric optional
• 1/4 ground or dried thyme
• 6 cups of chicken stock
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 2-3 cups cooked and shredded chicken
• Garnish with all or any of the following: tortilla chips, cilantro, sour cream, hot sauce, grated cheddar or Monterey jack cheese.

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Here’s some info on poblano peppers. Their heat level is less than a jalapeno, but more than a green pepper. One in 10 poblano peppers are a bit hotter than the rest. If you are concerned about getting too much spice, you can be brave and taste them raw, or do what I do and just smell them once you cut them up. If they are pretty fragrant, then you might have found the one in 10. I don’t mind the spice and they give the soup a good pepper flavor without blowing your head off. I bought 3 to use and ended up with just 2 so adjust to your taste.

Start by melting the butter in a stock pot over medium high heat. Add the veggies and stir to coat in the butter. Add salt and pepper and cook about 10-15 minutes until the veggies start to soften. Stir in the garlic, thyme and cumin and cook about 5 minutes more. Note: I like to add my garlic later to make sure it doesn’t burn and get a bitter taste to it.

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Now you are ready for the liquids – add the broth and cream and turn the head down to medium low. I also like to add in a tiny bit of turmeric (for color) and bump up the chicken flavor with some premium bouillon, but those are optional. I let this hang out for 20-30 minutes just to make sure the veggies are completely cooked and the stock/cream is infused with all that flavor.

Now your ready to blend it up! Using a immersion blender or a regular old standard blender, puree the soup until it’s nice and smooth. If you ae using a stand blender, make sure you do small batches so you don’t burn yourself – safety first!

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For the chicken, I like it shredded but however you like it will work. This is a good spot to use a rotisserie chicken or some left over stuff from the fridge. Add the chicken to the pot and allow things to meld together for 15-20 minutes. Taste it and adjust for salt and pepper if needed. I like to garnish with cilantro instead of putting in in the soup, but it’s your soup after all, so do what you like. I crush up some tortilla ships and add a big handful of cheese. I did try it the next day with a small scoop of sour cream and that was pretty good too. Enjoy!