Corn Chowder with Roasted Poblano Pepper

Corn Chowder is one of my favorite soups.  I make it a few times a year.  Although, I make it slightly different each time, the flavors is always pretty much the same.

A few weeks ago, I saw Robin's recipe for Roasted Poblano Pepper Corn Chowder (on her blog, Knead to Cook).  Since I love adding corn to my "Mexican" dishes, I was surprised I hadn't thought to add a Mexican flair to my corn chowder before!

Just as I suspected, I loved this soup!  I did have to make a few adjustments based on the ingredients I had on hand, but still, it's a great soup!  I'll be making this again!

Corn Chowder with Roasted Poblano Pepper

Ingredients: 

• 1 poblano pepper, halved and seeded
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 2 large white potatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 cups frozen whole-kernel corn 
• 12 oz Fat Free Evaporated Milk
• flour, optional (for thickening) 

Directions: 

• Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil.  Place poblano pepper halves on cookie sheet and let cook until skin is black.  Remove cookie sheet from oven, wrap pepper halves in foil and set aside.  When cool enough to handle, peel the pepper and discard the skin.  With a sharp knife, chop the roasted pepper. 
• Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, celery and red pepper.  Cook until slightly tender.  
• Slowly pour chicken stock over vegetables, scraping any darkened bits from the bottom.  Add salt, pepper and cumin.  Bring to boil.  
• Add potatoes.  Allow to cook until potatoes are slightly tender.  Add corn kernels and cook until corn is thawed and all vegetables are tender.  
• If using flour to thicken your soup, combine it with the evaporated milk.  Be sure there are no lumps.  Stir evaporated milk into the soup and allow to cook until heated through.  
• You can serve as is, or if you like you can use an immersion blender to puree a bit of the soup to make it creamier.  

Notes:  

• I really enjoyed this soup even though I pureed it a bit too much!  
• I've never roasted peppers in the oven before and was a bit intimidated and almost eliminated that step completely.  But it was really easy!  Not very energy efficient for just one pepper.  Next time, I'll roast a bunch of them at once and freeze them.  

Total Calories:  1544* 

8 (one cup) servings @ 193 calories per serving*

*Calories are approximate and may not always be accurate.  

This recipe has been linked to the following blog carnivals and linky parties:

• Food On Fridays hosted by Ann Kroeker