Poblano Potato Soup

In February I took a work road trip with three fun co-workers – our mission – to dine at Café Cental while in El Paso, Texas. Well, not exactly. Our mission was to hold an event at Cattleman’s Steakhouse in Fabens, Texas. It was simply a group consensus that we must fit in time to return to Café Central. It has a lovely and quaint interior with impeccable and some may say overbearing service.

The one dish that we all remembered and ordered right away was the Cream of Green Chile Soup. This is the soup that I dream of at night and I surely did think about that soup for days after having it for the second time in my life. What is in it that makes it so creamy and JUST spicy enough that you have to have another bite to try and satisfy the slow burn? Oh, it's good stuff ya'll and when I came home from that trip I searched the internet for the recipe but never found anything that sounded like it would give me the same silky and spicy soup I was craving to have again.

I finally decided to make an attempt, knowing from the get go that it wasn't the right recipe but hoping that a close second would curve the craving. I found this Poblano Purple Potato Soup recipe over at the bitchincamero.com blog and decided to give it a shot.

This is a picture of my NEW favorite thing in my kitchen. They are onion goggles, and one day I may show you what they look like ON me, but for now I will just let you picture me wearing them while I slice and dice onions. They really work! There is foam around the eyes to seal out any of the stinging chemicals that are released when you slice an onion.

Here are the ingredients and measurements that the original recipe calls for:

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium-sized yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 large poblano peppers, diced

1 lb. purple Idaho potatoes, unpeeled and diced (or same amount creamer or regular Idaho potatoes)

3 cups chicken stock

salt to taste

1/2 tsp paprika

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup cilantro, leaves and stems ok

1/2 cup plain yogurt (non-fat is ok, Greek-style is preferred)

4 slices of ham

I started with a little bit of olive oil in a deep stock pot.

Then added the diced onion. Pot should be hot at a medium high heat. Stir occasionally for 5-7 minutes while the onions soften.

These are my poblano peppers! (They were not very hot at all)

Once onions are soft, add garlic to the pot.

Chop up the chiles and add to the stock pot as well. Continue cooking for 5 minutes, or until the peppers just begin to soften.

This is what one pound of potatoes look like. I was so surprised it was only three potatoes!

Now that all the veggies are soft and I can see some brown bits on the bottom of the pot, I need to add the potatoes and stock.

Pour in the stock.

Give the potatoes a rough chop.

And add the potatoes to the stock and veggies.

Bring all of this to a simmering boil.

Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are fork-tender.

Meanwhile, I took the last five slices of peppered bacon from the fridge and baked them in the oven for 15 minutes. I put them on a metal rack on top of a sheet pan so the bacon doesn't cook in the grease.

The other topping we need to assemble is the olive oil and paprika. Simply combine them in a bowl or a little container.

I love this cilantro sour cream idea.

I simply put a handful of cilantro in this small blender with the sour cream and blended together.

This took less than 60 seconds, and it looks special and taste great. I can see using this little trick for a finishing sauce on enchiladas, or served on the side of quesadillas.

Now that the potatoes are all fork tender its time for the fun part!

I get to use my immersion blender that Jim bought me for Christmas. I really love this thing.

And there you go, soup!

Bacon is hot and crunchy, ready to be chopped up for topping.

All that is left to do now is assemble. Ladle the soup into bowls, then drizzle with the smoked paprika oil, add a dollop of cilantro sour cream and sprinkle with the bacon pieces.

I liked to add the toppings and then swirl them into my soup.

The addition of potato definitely made it a heartier soup than what we had in El Paso. I absolutely loved the combination of salty bacon, creamy cilantro sour cream that was cool and the warm paprika oil. In the future I would drop a jalapeno into the sauteing veggies - this soup needed more of a kick. Jim called and asked what all the little containers were in the fridge, I tried to explain to him how to assemble the soup himself, he sounded puzzled and wanted to know if it was okay to just eat the potato soup. Uggg.... it's just NOT the same without the toppings that add such flair!

I do have a very exciting update to make. I have FOUND the original recipe for Cream of Green Chile Soup. It's completely rich and luxurious! You have to give it a shot.

Goat Cheese and Onion Tart

This Goat Cheese and Onion Tart recipe makes me think of fancy appetizers at a dinner party. I made it a solo dinner one night - either way it's a winner and a recipe that I WILL be repeating again - maybe using the same ingredients...but probably not.

Now that I have freezer space I've stocked up on a few more staples that I always wanted to have on hand. One of those being puff pastry! I once read a message board where cooks talked about what one thing they would rather buy than make from scratch. The number one answer was puff pastry! Now I have at least one box in my freezer at all times, the only trick is that you have to sort of plan when you are going to use it since the only way to thaw it is by letting it sit on the counter for an hour.

I'm trying to remember how I first came to find this recipe, it's from Ina, who I think is a genius...so I probably watched one of her cooking shows where she made this and then I couldn't get the recipe out of my head and then HAD to make it one night. The ingredients are fairly simple, I did make a special trip to the grocery store for goat cheese. Jim and I both love goat cheese so as soon as I pay $4 for a little 2 ounce container it's gone before I know it.

Here is what you need for Ina's Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart. I only used one sheet of puff pastry and made two tarts, Ina's recipe makes 4 tarts.

1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) puff pastry, defrosted
Good olive oil
4 cups thinly sliced yellow onions (2 large onions)
3 large garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons dry white wine
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
4 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, plus 2 ounces shaved with a vegetable peeler
4 ounces garlic-and-herb goat cheese (recommended: Montrachet)
1 large tomato, cut into 4 (1/4-inch-thick) slices
3 tablespoons julienned basil leaves

Once the pastry was defrosted, I first cleaned my counter and then sprinkled it with some flour.

Ina says to roll out the puff pastry to a 11 x 11 inch square. I'm not one to follow directions exactly so I rolled it big enough to get two five inch rounds cut out of it. And I knew I would have to move the dough once it was cut, so it couldn't be so thin that it stretched or tore - I left mine thin, but not paper thin.

Just use what you have in your kitchen. Here I have two of my every day bowls from Pier 1 that I flipped upside down and used as guides to cut circles in the pastry. And in case you were wondering, I delicately folded up the unused dough, wrapped in saran wrap and put back in the freezer. I have lots of ideas on what to do with the scraps. I could brush them with butter, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and bake sweet chips! I could spray with Pam, sprinkle with parmesan and bake to make a yummy dipper for hummus. And for those who think hummus is gross, it's only bean dip!

I love this tidbit from Ina! I used a cup that was about two inches smaller in diameter to make an indention in the pastry. You don't want it cut all the way through, just score the round pastry.

Now, prick the inside of the inner circle with the tines of a fork. This will ensure the outside "puffs" and the inside stays nice and flat.

Place the pastry circles on sheet pans lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to use.

Now here is a cool tidbit from Mandy! When grapes go on special, buy some for your freezer. My mother used to call these "God's Popsicles" when I was growing up. Next time you are drinking wine that may not be cold enough or a white wine you want to STAY cold, drop a few grapes in your glass.

These frozen grapes act like ice without diluting the vino!

Back to the tart. I really like caramelized onions because the low and slow cooking process brings out all the natural sugars in the onion and they become sweet and sticky with a beautiful brown color. I wanted to slice these onions pretty thin, so I used a mandolin. I found this one at Sur la Table for less than $20 and it folds flat for kitchens with limited storage like mine. I fell in love with the lime green - it matches my kitchen decor. You could also slice these onions by hand, it may just be tricky to get them this thin, but even thicker slices of onion will caramelize well.

I used my cast iron skillet to cook the onions with a tablespoon of olive oil.

Low and slow is key here. It should take 15-20 minutes to get them right, so if the heat is too high then the onions will simply burn, so keep the heat on medium low.

There is the garlic! I added about one minced clove to the onions when they were half way done. I didn't want the garlic to brown and get hard and bitter, but slowly heat up with the onions.

Just because I felt like it, I added a pinch of Italian seasoning.

And a pinch of salt and pepper too - for good measure.

When the onions were about done, I added a tablespoon of white wine and then scrapped up the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Heat off, onions are done.

To the puff pastry, I built the tart by starting with some Parmesan shavings on the bottom - keeping all ingredients inside my scored inner circle.

Next, add a heap of caramelized onions.

Now for the goat cheese. Just a few pinches here and there.

Instead of slicing a whole tomato, I used a can of mexican style diced tomatoes and strained a spoonful from the can.

Delicately place that on top of the savory mound.

Finish it all off with more Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.

I thought the goat cheese would really make this tart something special, but the onions and the parmesan really stole the show here. The seasoning added to the onions made them extra yummy. I will make this again, but probably not make a special trip to the store for any ingredients, but simply use the method Ina did and incorporate ingredients I have on hand.

I would like to try making a tart with pulled pork and cheddar cheese or roasted chicken and kalamata olives topped with a sprinkle of parmesan. What about the sweet tarts? You could layer pears with blue cheese and finish it off with a drizzle of honey and walnuts. Is your mouth watering yet?