International Travel

     Two of my favorite things are Fall and soups.  And right now I can savor both.  As the days grow shorter and the temps begin to diminish, I am once again in the kitchen creating some soups that warm both body and soul.  I have several cookbooks that detail how to make some old time favorites like tomato, chicken noodle, and vegetable.  But this time around I am thinking of taking those American standards and sending them on a trip beyond our borders.  For the remainder of this week join me in some international travel.

     Today I'm going south of the border to give a Mexican flair to tomato soup.  By adding some chipotle a basic classic gains a Latin flair.  But what exactly is chipotle, beside a leading restaurant chain in the United States?

     The word comes from the Nahuati dialect term chipoctli and refers to a smoked chili pepper.  Chipotles are nothing more than smoke dried jalapeno peppers.  The majority of them are produced in the northern Mexico state of Chihuahua.  They are the morita variety.  Others are also grown in other sections of the country and vary in heat intensity.  Chipotles impart a relatively mild but earthy spiciness to food and have a distinctive smoky flavor.  They are usually used in meals that are slow cooked and are used primarily in soups, sauces and meat rubs.  They can also be used to kick up salsas.  Chipotles are versatile and can be found as a powder, in pods, canned in adobo sauce, concentrated as a base and also sold as a wet meat marinade.

     Here is a recipe you can try to warm things up on a chilly Fall day:

Tomato-Chipotle Soup

 

Melt

4 Tbsp unsalted butter                       2 Tbsp minced chipotles in adobo sauce

2 cups chopped onions                       1 Tbsp adobo sauce from canned chipotles

2 Tbsp minced fresh garlic                2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

 

Add

3 cups low sodium chicken broth    2 cans diced tomatoes in juice

 

Stir In

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro         sour cream

salt & black pepper to taste                guacamole

tortilla chips                                          cilantro leaves

 

     Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onions and cook 3 minutes.  Stir in garlic, chipotles and adobo sauce; cook 1-2 minutes.  Stir in flour and cook 1 minute.

 

     Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer soup 30 minutes.  Remove soup from heat and puree in a food processor or blender.  (for a chunky soup, only process half of the mixture-Vinny)

 

     Stir in chopped cilantro and season soup with salt and pepper.  Garnish each serving with tortilla chips, sour cream or guacamole, and cilantro.

 

Makes 5 servings (10 cups)

 

 

Recipe courtesy of Cuisine at home, Issue 101, October 2013.