Spicy Sopa de Queso

Dave DeWitt Leave a Comment

This is a rich soup that is definitely for those who aren’t counting their calories. It’s important that this soup does not come to a boil after adding the cheese or it may curdle and break. I serve this soup garnished with tortilla chips, like a more substantial version of the popular tortilla soup found all over Mexico. Serve with a flour tortilla in place of bread or crackers.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter

  • 1 medium onion, chopped

  • 1/4 cup diced bell pepper

  • 2 cloves garlic

  • 3 teaspoons dry mustard

  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 2 to 3 cups chicken broth

  • 1 12-ounce can beer, optional

  • 4 to 6 green New Mexican chiles, roasted, peeled, chopped

  • 1 15-ounce can peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped

  • 1 15-ounce can pinto or kidney beans, drained

  • ½ cup half and half cream

  • 6 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

  • 4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated

  • Salt to taste

  • Garnish: Chopped fresh cilantro

  • Tortilla chips

Instructions

 

Melt the butter in a heavy stockpot or saucepan and saute the onion, bell pepper, and garlic until softened. Stir in the mustard and flour and heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly to cook the flour but being careful it doesn’t brown.

Add the broth, beer if using, green chiles, tomatoes, and beans. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes to thicken.

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cream and cheese until the cheese has melted. Return the pot and simmer until reheated.

Serve in a tureen or in individual soup bowls garnished with cilantro and a couple of tortilla chips.

 

African Groundnut Soup

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West African cooking quite often uses the mixture of chiles and peanuts, which are called groundnuts there. This unusual soup uses peanut butter as the peanut source and is one that you can have it on the table in under an hour. Don’t eliminate mixing the peanut butter with a little of the soup before adding to the pot, or the mixture may curdle.

Ingredients

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, peanut preferred

  • 2 carrots, peeled and diced

  • 1 medium onion, chopped

  • ½ teaspoon grated ginger

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 6 chile piquins

  • ½ teaspoon sugar

  • 3 cups chicken broth

  • 1 cup creamy peanut butter

  • Salt to taste

  • 1 cup cooked rice

  • Garnish: Chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

 

Heat the oil in a heavy stockpot or saucepan add the carrots, onions, and ginger and saute until the carrots are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the cumin, chile, sugar, and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes

 

Remove the soup from the heat and put it in blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Strain the soup back into the pot and return and reheat.

In a small bowl mix the peanut butter with ½ cup of the soup until smooth. Stir this mixture into the soup and simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until hot.

To serve, put some of the rice in the bottom of individual bowls, top with the soup, garnish with cilantro and serve.

 

Red Lentil Soup

Dave DeWitt Leave a Comment

This vegetarian soup from India is so full flavored that you won’t miss the meat. I like to cook with lentils because unlike other beans, you don’t have to plan ahead to soak them overnight, and they cook quickly. This soup makes a great entree by reducing the amount of liquid, either pureeing the soup or not, and serving it over rice.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 1 onion, chopped

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 4 teaspoons grated ginger

  • 4 small dried red chiles, such as piquin, tepin, chiltepin, or arbol

  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander

  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin

  • ½ teaspoon turmeric

  • 3 cups vegetable broth

  • ½ cup red lentils, picked over

  • 1 medium potato, peeled and diced

  • Garnish: Chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

Instructions

Heat the oil in a heavy stockpot or saucepan and saute the onion for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, and chiles and continue to saute for an additional 2 minutes. Stir in the coriander, cumin, and turmeric and heat for an additional minute.

Add the broth, lentils, and potato to the pot and heat to just below boiling. Simmer the soup for 30 to 40 minutes or until the lentils and potatoes are very soft. Put the soup in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Strain the soup back into the pot and reheat.

Ladle the soup into individual bowls, garnish with cilantro or parsley, and serve.

 

Southwestern Chipotle Corn Chowder

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The word chowder comes from the French chaudiere meaning caldron, which traditionally were the iron pots used to cook soup, and the term refers to a thick soup or stew. This chowder combines two native Southwestern ingredients, chile and corn. The chipotle chile gives the soup a rich smoky taste which compliments grilled foods, but other chiles can be substituted. Jalapeños, serranos, and green New Mexican chiles are also tasty substitutes. This soup can be made heartier with the addition of crab, clams, shrimp, or chicken.

Ingredients

  • 1 medium potato, peeled and diced

  • 2 strips bacon

  • 1 small onion, chopped

  • ½ cup diced bell pepper

  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 3 cups chicken broth

  • 1 15-ounce can creamed corn

  • 1 cup whole-kernel corn

  • 2 teaspoons canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

  • ½ cup cream, optional

  • Garnish: Crumbled bacon

Instructions

Precook the potatoes in a microwave on high for 5 to 6 minutes or until just done.

Fry the bacon in a heavy stockpot or saucepan until crisp. Remove the bacon, drain on a paper towel, and reserve for the garnish. Add the onion and bell pepper to the pot and saute for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are softened. Add the flour into the onion mixture and continue to saute for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly to cook the flour but being careful that the flour doesn’t brown.

Add the broth, both corns, potatoes, chipotle, and cumin. Raise the heat and bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer the soup for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Slowly stir in the cream, if using, and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Crumble the reserved bacon. Ladle the soup into a tureen or individual bowls, garnish with the bacon and serve.

Trinidadian Coconut-Curried Goat

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Goat meat, which is not commonly eaten in the United States (except in the Southwest), appears in many West Indian recipes. The Trinis sometimes eat curried goat Jamaican-style, but this version with coconut is more customary.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) or vegetable oil

  • 1 onion, chopped fine

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 3 seasoning peppers, seeds and stems removed, chopped fine (or substitute Yellow Wax Hots)

  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander

  • 1 teaspoon turmeric

  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 2 teaspoons red chile powder (powdered pure chiles, without spices)

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 1½ pounds lean goat meat (or substitute lamb), cut into ½ -inch cubes

  • 1½ cups water

  • 2 tablespoons coconut cream, or more to taste

  • salt to taste

Instructions

Heat the ghee or oil in a skillet, add the onion, garlic, peppers, and ginger and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the coriander, turmeric, black pepper, chile powder, and cumin and sauté for another 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add the meat and brown it, stirring occasionally. Add the water and simmer the meat until tender, about 1 hour. Add more water if the mixture becomes too dry. Stir in the coconut cream and cook for 5 minutes.

Add salt to taste and serve hot with rice and a chutney of choice.