Or – Trying to Cook All the Things

I have been trying to take advantage of the bounty of the season of both my garden and the local farmers markets.

I am certainly not short of great ingredients! The trick is to become creative in your use of the season’s bounty, because the same thing day in and day out can get boring no matter how good it is!

I have canned tomato sauce as well as a zippy little version of Rotel-Style tomatoes that will serve us well over the winter months. I have frozen fresh sweet corn that I cut from the cob, and I will be blanching green and yellow beans to freeze as well. I have pickled radishes and cucumbers. I roasted and froze some amazing poblanos and some great jalepenos too!

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However, I have been cooking things to eat as well. Things like Zucchini Parmigianino or Zucchini and Summer Squash Mac, and Cheese. However, one thing that I recently made was a hit on so many levels – and when I told people about it, they all wanted the recipe and here it is!

On Saturday, I made Roasted Poblano Corn Chowder and it was completely devoured by Sunday night.

I based my recipe loosely on this recipe:

5 large poblano chile peppers
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 fresh medium onions, diced
2 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
3 fresh red skin potatoes, peeled and diced
4 fresh ears of sweet corn cut from the cob
5 cups of chicken stock
1 tsp kosher salt
2 large bay leaves
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp dried oregano
1-cup heavy cream
Lime wedges

Roast the chiles. I just set mine over my gas burner, turning them as they charred. You could also put them on a sheet pan and put them under the broiler or on a grill. You want them blackened all over. Once they are charred, place them in a bowl, cover with saran wrap, and let them steam. This will loosen the skins and allow for easier peeling once they have cooled down a bit. To peel, I rub my fingers over them to remove the skin and rinse them under a bit of running water. Once the skins have been removed, cut them open, removing the ribs and seeds. Give them a rough chop and set them aside.

In a heavy-bottomed 6-quart pan, (I used a dutch oven) melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the onions once the butter is melted. Sprinkle with kosher salt and cook them until they are softened and beginning to caramelize a bit, about 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 1-2 minutes, until it becomes translucent and fragrant. Be careful, you do not want to burn the garlic.

Increase heat and add the diced potatoes, chicken stock, bay leaves, cumin, and oregano to bring to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are just cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Adjust cooking temperature to keep at a simmer and add the corn kernels to the mixture and cook another 5 minutes or so, until the corn is cooked through. Add the chopped roasted poblanos to the pot.

Remove the bay leaves and stir in the cream. Add black pepper, as needed for taste. If you want a thicker soup, you can use either an immersion blender or standing blender to puree about 1/3 of the soup. I did not do this at all and I found the consistency perfect.

To serve, squeeze a wedge of lime in each bowl and serve with a slice or two to garnish.

 

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If you wanted, you could prepare and freeze the soup before adding the cream.

I served this with some homemade corn bread, which was the perfect complement to the meal.

Keep on enjoying summers bounty – I know I will.

I am off to try to finish my last Camp Loopy project for the summer. Have a great week!

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