Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Cream of “Three Pepper” Soup


I am a big fan of Hatch Chiles, so am always excited to get a box from Melissa’s Produce come August.  I had my own hatch chile roast over the gas grill while pretending that I was in the original growing area of Hatch, New Mexico.   But the season is short, so it is often a challenge to come up with as many ways in which to use them before they are no more.  This delicious soup is going to become a hatch chile tradition.  Made with three different peppers to give it a great depth of flavor, it can be mild or spicy depending upon how many jalapeños that you choose to use.  Mr. O-P, not at all a fan of peppers, lapped it up telling me how much he liked it between spoonfuls.  You will too!

Cream of Three Pepper Soup

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups homemade chicken stock
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large white onion, diced
1/2 large green pepper, finely diced
1-2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced
2 medium Melissa’s hatch chiles, roasted and chopped
1/2 cup grated provolone
1 cup grated cheddar jack cheese
Freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in heavy large saucepan over low heat. Add flour and stir 3 minutes. Mix in stock and milk, whisking to combine. Increase heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter and olive oil in a heavy medium skillet over low heat. Add onion, green pepper, and jalapeno(s). Cook until soft, stirring occasionally about 5 minutes. Stir in hatch chiles. Add cheese to cream mixture and stir until melted. Mix in vegetables. It you like a chunkier soup, leave as is; if you prefer a more creamy soup, pour half into a blender and blend thoroughly, or use an immersion blender and whir it around the pan for a couple of turns.  Season with salt, garnish with parsley and serve.

This post is linked to:

7 comments:

Brunner’s Bar said...

This sounds delicious. I will have to make this someday. I think this is right up my alley.

Linda said...

Yum! I love Hatch peppers too. Our local grocery stores have big roasting tumblers ( that's what they look like) outside the stores and pop them into Ziplocs. The smell is heaven! Last year they were fairly mild, and I wanted more heat, but this year they were too hot even for me. :(

Linda @ Life and Linda said...

Pattie, this soup sounds lovely. I have not seen any roasting tumblers around here. This would be great for a chilly night. Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving your sweet words.

Maria said...

Your soup looks delicious! It sounds like it has wonderful flavor! I love love love soups, and can't wait for fall to finally begin so I can take out all my favorite cold weather soup recipes again!

xinex said...

Sounds spicy and I love spicy!...Christine

~~louise~~ said...

Pepper Soup? I don't think I've ever indulged. It may just be that I'm missing something. I too am a huge fan of hatch peppers! Thank you so much for sharing, Pattie...

Lisa Boyle said...

I have never tried anything like this before, but it looks delicious! I love a good, hearty, cream soup, especially with the cooler weather coming! Thanks for linking up with "Try a New Recipe Tuesday!" I hope you will be able to join us again this week. http://our4kiddos.blogspot.com/2013/09/try-new-recipe-tuesday-september-17.html