Spicy Southwestern Soup

Chicken Broth

Ease of Preparation: Easy
1 Large Jar

A good homemade chicken broth can be a lifesaver. It’s easily turned into a soup, sauce, stew or side dish and its unmistakable hearty richness just can’t be duplicated with what’s in the carton or can at the grocery store. I keep some on hand all the time.

Chicken Broth

A large package of fresh chicken wings
A large onion
A large carrot
A few stalks of celery
A bay leaf or two
A sprinkle or two of salt and pepper

Roughly chop the vegetables into small chunks then toss everything into a sauce or stockpot. Cover with a few inches of water then bring the works to a boil over a high heat. Reduce the heat to low and continue simmering for two hours or so.

Pass through a strainer and voila – chicken broth! Lightly season with a pinch or two of salt.

Fresh Salsa

Ease of Preparation: Easy
A Few Cups

A freshly tossed salsa of juicy ripe tomatoes and aromatic flavours is an easy-to-make, easy-to-enjoy snack. Sweet tomatoes, pungent onions, sour lime, aromatic herbs, salt and spicy pepper all balance each other in a vibrant harmony of tastes. A good salsa doesn’t ruin your day with too much spicy heat; it brightens it with just enough!

Fresh Salsa

Two or three chopped ripe tomatoes
One minced chili pepper
The juice and zest of one or two limes
A handful of cilantro leaves
A big splash of your best olive oil
A few thinly sliced green onions
A heaping spoonful of tomato paste
A spoonful of ground cumin seed
A sprinkle or two of salt
Dipping chips

Toss everything together until well combined. Try not to eat it all in one sitting!

Southwestern Corn Soup with Red Peppers

Yield: 4

A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason, this is also an account of what happens when I make this dish, so you?ll understand each step. Of course when you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don?t like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour, you have to add your own!

Many of the bright flavours of the southwest are found in this distinctively thick soup. Many cooks in that region toss toasted corn tortillas into a simmering broth where they break down and thicken the liquid. I realized I could simply jump-start the process by using cornmeal, the flour the tortillas are made from.

Ingredients:

Grill

• 4 x cobs of corn, husked
• 3 x red peppers
• 4 tbsp of corn, olive or vegetable oil

Soup

• 2 tbsp of corn, vegetable or olive oil
• 4 x small onions, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp of cumin powder
• 4 cups of chicken broth, homemade or canned
• 1 x ancho pepper
• 1 cup of cornmeal, fine of coarse
• 1 cup grated of cheddar cheese, sharp or old for the most flavour
• 1 x lime, juice and zest
• 1 cup of chopped cilantro

Directions:

Grill

1. Preheat your grill. This is an optional step, you may choose to use a can of creamed corn instead but you’ll miss the toasty flavours of the grill if you do!
2. Halve and remove the seeds and stem from the red peppers. You may also use green, yellow or orange peppers for a multi-hued effect.
3. Toss the corn and pepper halves with the oil.
4. Grill until they start to char and become tender, about ten minutes. If you don’t have a grill, you may roast the corn and peppers under your oven’s broiler; turning frequently. Place the hot peppers in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap allowing the steam to loosen the skins. After 10 minutes or so – when the skin is easily peeled off – thinly slice the peppers and set aside to add to the finished soup. Meanwhile allow the corn to cool then cut off the kernels with a sharp knife and set aside with the peppers.

Soup

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a thick-bottomed soup pot over a medium-high heat. You may use a regular-bottomed pot, but thicker versions spread the heat more evenly as a result the ingredients in the pot don’t burn over any inadvertent hot spots.
2. Add the onions and cook – stirring frequently – until golden brown. After a few minutes the onions will lose their pungency and actually taste quite bland, once they begin to brown their flavour revives considerably.
3. Add the garlic and cumin powder. Stir for a few minutes longer until you can smell the garlic and cumin. It’s best to add the garlic now instead of with the onions as the garlic will burn in the time it takes the onions to brown. The cumin may be stale from sitting in a can. The high heat of the browning toasts it a bit, brightening its distinctive flavour.
4. Add chicken broth and ancho pepper and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes until the pepper softens and infuses the soup with its mildly spicy flavour. Remove it, mince it and add it back to the soup base. You may also choose to puree the soup at this point with a handheld blender.
5. Slowly stir in the cornmeal. The cornmeal will swell in the surrounding hot liquid and thicken the soup. This will take about 10 minutes. If you prefer you may add more cornmeal for a thicker soup.
6. At this point the soup is ready to be finished and served. Alternatively you may refrigerate it overnight then reheat it when needed and finish it just before serving. You may also finish it and refrigerate or freeze it, – but if you do the cilantro will lose its bright flavour and colour.
7. To finish - stir in the reserved corn kernels, the reserved red pepper strips, grated cheddar cheese, lime (juice and zest) and the cilantro.
8. Taste, and season with salt. Garnish with a few more sprigs of cilantro and perhaps a dollop of sour cream or even plain yogurt. Enjoy!

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