Recipe 1, Week 32: Chicken and Roasted Poblano Soup

NOTES
• This soup is packed with flavor!
• Modified from Rachael Ray
• I did steps 1-3 ahead of time. Step 1 should defintely be done ahead of time as the chicken needs to boil for about an hour. Steps 2-3 can be done the night or morning before you want to eat the soup to make a quick prep when you want to eat.
• The soup freezes great so make a double batch!
• Serve with homemade cheddar biscuits (see Recipe 1.2 - the post below this one).


INGREDIENTS

For the poached chicken:

• 2 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken breast
• 2 ribs celery, quartered
• 1 onion, peeled and halved
• 2 carrots, peeled and quartered
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 lime, sliced

For the soup:

• 6 large poblano peppers (dark green pepper - see here for picture)
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 2 large (1 1/2 to 2 pounds) starchy potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1ish cup defrosted corn kernels
• 1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped (optional) or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• Salt and pepper
• Garnishes: lime wedges, corn tortilla chips, fresh chopped cilantro, etc.

DIRECTIONS

1. In large soup pot, cover chicken and poaching ingredients (celery through lime slices) with about 2 1/2 to 3 quarts water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low. Simmer and poach 1 hour. Remove chicken breasts to a plate to cool. Peel and remove bones from chicken and slice the breast meat. Strain the poaching liquid through a sieve and reserve. Toss the cooked veggies.

2. Preheat the broiler. Place poblano and red bell peppers on a baking sheet covered with foil and broil and turn until skins are evenly blackend all over. Place peppers in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap to steam peppers and loosen flesh from skin for 5 minutes. Peel off blackened skin, remove seeds, and chop. Puree in food processor with a little reserved chicken stock until smooth.

3. In a small pot, cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Salt water and cook potatoes until very soft. Drain and mash (either with a potato masher or in your food processor) until very smooth with some of the reserved stock. Add to pureed peppers.

4. In a large pot, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add corn, garlic, jalepeño (if using), coriander and cumin, and stir a few minutes over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and thin soup to desired consistency with reserved poaching liquid. Add chicken, salt and pepper to taste and cook to warm the meat through. Adjust seasonings as necessary again (I had to add quite a bit of salt). If freezing, let soup cool and pack in freezer bags or containers.

5. Serve with desired garnishes.