Poblano Chicken Chowder

This chowder is served at Sam’s Cafe here in Phoenix, and it’s wonderful. Its a lot of chopping, but the recipe makes a big pot full. I freeze half for another meal.

Difficulty: Intermediate

Servings: 16 generous servings

Ingredients

2 cups flour
2 cups unsalted butter
1/4 cups olive oil
5 or 6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
3 or 4 medium onions, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 bunch celery, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch dice
1/4 Cup garlic, minced (I use a garlic press for this)
1/2 lb poblano peppers, roasted, peeled, stemmed, de-seeded and cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 1/2 Tb ground cumin
2 Tb fresh thyme
7 oz chicken base
2 1/2 quarts water
1 Tb pepper
1/8 C hot sauce, or to taste
3 Cups heavy cream
1 Cup grilled cubed chicken (I use left-over store-bought rotisserie chicken)
2 Tb fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions

Combine the flour and butter in a heavy pan over medium heat and cook, stirring often, for 4 or 5 minutes. Don’t let it brown.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot, add carrots, onions, celery, garlic, poblano peppers, cumin and thyme. Saute 8 to 10 minutes until the vegetables are slightly softened. Add the chicken base, water and pepper. Cook until the carrots are tender but still crisp, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the butter/flour mixture and cook 5 minutes longer, stirring often. Remove from heat. Add hot sauce to taste. At this point you can hold the soup in the fridge until dinner. Before serving, add the cream and chicken and heat through. Garnish with the cilantro and enjoy!

Categories: Cream Soups, Crowd-Size, Main Dish, Poultry, Soups & Stews

Submitted by: absinthe on January 17, 2011