Friday 13 June 2014

Roasted Poblano and Corn Soup













When I found poblano chiles in my local supermarket last week I was gob-smacked. We Aussies have been repeatedly told that Mexican Food is the "new wave" here. I've bored my family and friends nauseous telling them that, until I find real Mexican ingredients in my supermarket, I wont believe the hype. Well, I'm about to eat my words, or poblanos... which I'm totally okay with. After I found these little gems just up the road, I immediately skipped home and began gushing all over Facebook about my amazing find like I'd found the golden ticket. Embarrassing really. But my lovely FB friends indulged me and came up with some utterly delicious suggestions for their use. One suggestion from my friend Megan at Yumology was to make Chile Rellenos, which I did and I was so busy scoffing them that I didn't take any photos... wah! But to make amends, I went back to the supermarket today and bought a sack of the suckers and made this soup which was a great suggestion from another very helpful FB friend... and, I took some photos. So in the last little while, I've eaten humble poblano pie and learned from the error or my ways.


PS: And another thing I've learned from this whole poblano affair, is that I desperately need a new hand model.




Roasted Poblano and Corn Soup
adapted from Food Network
Serves 6

For the Soup:
6 poblano chiles 
8 ears of fresh corn, kernels removed
2 litres milk (I used full cream)
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 chipotle chillies
2 fresh bay leaves
1 sprig rosemary
30g unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions
2 teaspoons fine salt (I used Pink Himalaya)
6 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin

For the Garnish:
Corn tortilla strips, fried in a little oil until crispy
Coriander leaves

Set the grill (broiler) to high, lay the poblano chiles in one layer on a baking tray and grill (broil) until the skin is black and blistered. Remove them from the grill, place them in a plastic bag and leave them for 15 minutes.
Then peel the skins off and discard (they should just slip off) and remove the stems and seeds. Cut into dice. Set side.

Put the milk into a large pan. In a small, dry frying pan, fry the cumin seeds over high heat until they are toasted and fragrant. Tip them straight into the milk. Add the chipotles, bay leaves and rosemary to the milk. Bring the milk to a simmer, clamp on a lid, turn of the heat and leave to infuse for 20 minutes.

In a large soup pan, melt the butter and oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, but not browned. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the garlic and ground cumin and cook for another minute. Add the corn and roasted poblanos and cook for a few minutes. Strain the milk through a fine sieve and add it to the vegetables. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 - 20 minutes (do not boil). Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes.

Take half the soup and blitz it in a blender until smooth. Add it back to the pan. You should have a thick soup with lots of body and a chunky texture. Check seasoning. Serve in deep bowls and top with crispy tortilla strips and coriander leaves.

20 comments:

  1. Yum!!!! I know what I'm looking out for next time I get to the farmer's markets!! This seems like the perfect winter warmer. When you posted that photo on FB I was waiting to see what you would come up with to use them! Can't wait to make a big pot of this :)
    Also, you have gorgeous hands. I don't feature mine because I have no fingernails. Ain't nobody needs to see that...

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    1. Haha Amy. At least you don't have an ugly big bruise on your thumbnail - not very photogenic but hey, this is real life. This is a soup-for-dinner kind of soup. It's perfect for coming home to after a cold winters day, with may be some hot buttered scones or savoury muffins along side.

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  2. That looks amazing! Love all of the flavor in here. As usual, your photography is amazing--swooning at all that creamy soup with a crusty baguette. <3

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    1. Thanks June. Creamy soup and crusty bread, does it get any better than that?

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  3. Looks so perfect for summer!! Also, the photography is so gorgeous!
    http://youtube.com/addalittlefood

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  4. That is soooo cool! I feel the same when I found new ingredients that I never have seen and I talk about it over and over again...oh well, I feel you :) & gosh, corn and poblano?? I'm sure it was really delicious and comforting with a piece of bread :)

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    1. Haha. Imagine if we went shopping together?

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  5. So, so good! Pinning this to try!!

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  6. this is a great recipe!! It reminds me of yogurt based drink we make back home in India!! Bookmarking it to make soon!!

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  7. Nice one.... I don't think I've seen those chillies yet!

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  8. So jealous. You and I both share the Mexican food obsession (as per our previous commiserations about the lack of chipotles en adobo in supermarkets here!). I've only seen poblanos once in my local market, I was so freaking excited and I went home and blackened them straight away, put them in a plastic bag to sweat and then shoved them in the refrigerator as I was going out for the day. I got home, searched for the bag... it was gone. I asked the husband if he knew what happened to the grilled peppers and he said that he 'threw them away as they were all rotten'. I think my exasperation could be heard from the hills. And that is the end of my poblano story.
    P.S this soup looks amazing... and so does your kitchen hand. It's impossible for real cooks to have perfect fingers, methinks... mine are always stained with cracked cuticles and ruined nails. A splash of red polish does wonders though. And after that, there is photoshop (I erased a bloodied graze once!) x

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    1. Ha ha. Your poblano story is hilarious Laura. Poor Aaron. I can totally understand the confusion. Deliberately blackened, sweating peppers look just like peppers that got shoved to the back of the fridge and forgotten for weeks. Bless his little cotton socks.
      My hands are a train wreck at the moment. I go through stages where I take care of them, getting manicures, putting on hand cream and wearing rubber gloves to wash up. Then I cut a finger, break a nail, or jam my thumb in the dishwasher door and the party's over. It's off with the gloves (literally), and nail polish. I cut all my nails off and stop applying hand cream. I think they call it the sublime to the ridiculous. I seriously need a photoshop manicure.

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  9. If I could I'd send you all the poblanos. Then you could make me this gorgeous soup whenever.. Love these shots. They are stunning!

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  10. Thanks Maria. If you could send me all the poblanos I'd be a very happy woman.

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  11. I am all over this soup. Love, absolutely love the flavors!

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