I saw some beautiful looking poblanos at the store and they instantly made me crave corn chowder with a bit of spice but I wanted to make something that was a little denser and slightly more earthy to compliment the sweet corn and smoky poblanos. The addition of the squash seemed like the perfect thing and I have to say, I'm so gonna cry a little river when fall and winter squash make their quiet exit from the markets. Until then, grab a butternut or two and try this recipe. My only regret is that I didn't pair it with a nice ale, the way I'm guessing it was intended to be.
And in the recipe I add a bit of arrowroot powder to the cream - the reason is that the lime juice makes the mixture a little too watery and with the addition of the arrowroot the cream holds up for a few minutes on top of the hot soup until you can plate it and garnish. Isn't mixing in the cream half the satisfaction of eating it?
Ingredients:
Soup
- 1 large yellow onion, cubed
- 2 cups butternut squash, cubed into slightly larger than dice size
- 2 medium poblanos
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp mild ancho powder
- 1 heaping tsp cumin
- 4 cups chicken stock (or vegetable to make vegetarian)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 16 oz. organic sweet corn, approx 5-6 ears
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil
Avocado Lime Cream
- 2/3 cup full fat coconut milk or heavy cream
- juice of 1 lime
- pinch salt
- 1 tsp arrowroot powder
- 1 avocado
Garnish options
- Fried corn tortilla strips dusted in cumin and salt
- Scallions
- Toasted pepitas
Instructions:
First, roast the poblanos, either over a grill, gas burner or broiler. I used a broiler and cooked for 5 minutes until skin blackened, then turned and roasted 5 minutes more. Allow to cool so the skins will be easier to remove and prep other ingredients. Heat oil in a stock pot over medium high heat and when the oil has thinned to coat the pot add the onions and stir. Cook for 5 minutes then add the squash. Stir, cook for 5 more minutes then add the salt, chili powder and cumin. Stir it all around to toast the spices without burning them. Reduce heat to medium and cook a few minutes more while you peel the poblanos and chop them quickly, leaving out the seeds. Stir poblanos in and add the chicken stock and minced garlic. Bring to a good simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. While the soup cooks, make the cream.
Add the coconut milk, lime juice, salt and arrowroot to a blender and blend until smooth. Add the avocado and blend until smooth and thoroughly mixed, scraping down the sides if needed. Remove the cream from the blender and put into a pyrex or bowl. This is important: scrape out the cream but leave a little in (maybe a tablespoon worth) and definitely do not rinse the blender!
Back to the soup! Uncover, add the corn, cover and cook for 10 more minutes. Now add the butter to the soup and stir to melt it in. Transfer some soup to the blender getting equal parts broth and solids and blend it until you can't see individual ingredients and it's not chunky but NOT silky smooth. Blend in batches until all the soup has been pureed then return soup to the pot and put the heat on low. If you're frying some tortilla strips, now is the time. I used 4 tortillas and fried them in coconut oil (2-3 minutes per side fried in approximately 3 tbsp coconut oil) before transferring them to a plate lined with a paper towel and dusting them with a pinch of cumin and some salt.
To serve, top each bowl of soup with a couple tablespoons of avocado lime cream and some tortilla strips.
Serves 4
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