Recipe - Hot Smoked Chicken Soup

1 lg Onion; coarsely chopped
3 Cloves garlic; minced
3 tablespoon Ground cayenne pepper
1 One half tablespoon Ground coriander
1 teaspoon Ground mace
1 teaspoon Cloves
1 teaspoon Cumin
3 tablespoon Olive oil
3 tablespoon Unsalted butter
2 qt Light chicken stock
4 lg Roasted red bell peppers;
cleaned & chopped
3 Roasted california green
chilies; cleaned & chopped
1 cup Smoked chicken; shredded
Salt and pepper; to taste
One half cup Creme fraiche

In a large soup pot, cook the onion, garlic, and spices in the olive oil
and butter over moderate heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the
chicken stock and red peppers* and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for
5 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce the heat to moderate and cook for 15
minutes.

* [NOTE: As noted above, I roasted the bell peppers and pasillas together,
and preserved all of the juice. When the recipe said to add the bell
peppers, I added both types of peppers plus the considerable amount of
juice from roasting the peppers.] Cool the soup mixture to room
temperature. Puree in a blender until smooth**. Strain it through a fine
wire mesh, and return it to the saucepan.

** [NOTE: I could not fit this amount of stuff into either my blender or my
food processor, so I strained it *before* I pureed it so I'd only have to
puree the solids. After I pureed them, I didn't bother to strain the
results. If a smooth strained soup is a priority for you, you should strain
it back into the pot.]

Bring the soup to a boil over high heat. Cook for 15 minutes over high
heat, stirring frequently. Add all but a few strips of the roasted green
chilies (chop the remaining chilies for garnish) and the chicken. Reduce
heat to moderate and cook for 15 minutes. Season the soup with salt and
pepper, and serve with a drizzle of creme fraiche and the chopped bits of
the remaining green chilies.

The last time I made this I changed some things even more. To wit: 1)
Adding 5 fresh Anaheims with the roasted red peppers 2) Added two minced
chipotles (and less chicken) This last one was the most successful of all
~ it had a *nice* burn to it without being painful, and had a nice smokey
flavor. We always serve it over a large mound of Thai jasmine rice. It is
also an excellent cold summertime soup or rice flavoring. I flavor rice
with it and bring it to work for lunch. It keeps approximately forever in
the fridge (or so I've been told). Enjoy! Curtis Jackson
cjackson@mv.us.adobe.com

Busted by Christopher E. Eaves cea260@airmail.net

Recipe by: "Hot, Hotter, Hottest"

Posted to recipeludigest by "Christopher E. Eaves" cea260@airmail.net on
Mar 15, 1998