Chile Relleno Soup

The lack of soups in my kitchen has been surprising. It’s probably because we haven’t had a bitterly freezing cold snap yet this fall/winter. When it’s not cold, I’m not a fan of soups.

I’m glad I made this soup this weekend, though. I had my final (!!!) deep cleaning on my teeth yesterday and it did not go nearly as well as the last three. For some reason, my gums would not take the local anesthetic. My awesome dental hygienist had to shoot them up twice, and I could still feel all of the scaling and root planing she was doing on my back top teeth.

Flash forward to last night, and after the anesthetic had worn off, and my whole jaw is in excruciating pain. It’s still incredibly sore this morning, and I can’t really open my mouth very wide. Strange. I’m not sure why this round was so much more difficult than the last three, which were a breeze. And it was even my top teeth she was cleaning, which are way easier (and take less numbing, typically) than my bottom teeth.

So, soup it is. I’m glad I still have a ton of this creamy, spicy, and rich soup in my fridge. I couldn’t imagine really eating anything else right now.

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with chile rellenos for my whole life. I love the critters, but I once got food poisoning from one when I was a wee child. Ever since then, I won’t order them from a restaurant. I’ll make them myself or make a version of them, like this chicken casserole version, but I don’t make them often.

I had a hankering for some poblanos over the weekend so I made two things with my favorite pepper. Poblanos are spicy, but not as spicy as jalapeno or habanero peppers. I love to stuff them, eat them on tacos, and just grill some up as a side dish. Poblanos are a gift from the pepper gods!

I dug this soup, a lot. It hits on all the best notes. It’s like a cream-of-poblano soup, if there’s even such a thing. Frying up little strips of poblano make it perfect, and herald back to the soup’s chile relleno roots.

I used Monterey Jack cheese in and on top of the soup, but feel free to use other types. I bet it would be good with Pepper Jack, or a 4 cheese Mexican blend, or Quesadilla cheese. I’m a cheese fiend, so I’d probably try it with all of the above next time!

Step-By-Step Instructions

In a large Dutch oven or pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and cook 2-3 minutes, or until almost tender.

Add garlic, cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper.

Stir. Continue cooking until onion is translucent and garlic is fragrant, another 2-3 minutes. Add butter and melt.

Meanwhile, heat broiler in oven. Place poblano peppers on a foil lined baking sheet. Broil until blistered and charred, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Peel skin off of poblanos. Discard stems and seeds and chop, saving a whole poblano for the topping.

Add flour to onion mixture and stir. Let cook for 1 minute. Pour in chicken broth, cream, chopped poblanos and milk. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until soup is thickened.

Make the fried chile topping: Cut reserved poblano in half lengthwise, discard stem and seed. Cut in half lengthwise again, so you’re left with 4 pepper strips.

Make a dredging station: Separate egg yolks into one bowl and egg whites into another. Whisk egg whites for 2 minutes until frothy. Whisk flour and pepper into egg whites.

Heat cooking oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Dip pepper strips first into egg yolk and then into egg white mixture. Fry until golden brown on both sides, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Stir in 1/2 cup of Monterey Jack cheese into soup. Serve with extra cheese on top (broiling to make crispy and bubbling, if you want) and fried poblano strips.