Are The Holidays officially over yet? Please tell me they are. I really need to give my guts a break.
Don’t get me wrong. From Halloween to New Years Day, I am a Holiday Food Goddess. I will kick out all the pumpkin flavoured, brown sugar covered, Christmas cookie’d, roasted stick of butter goodness you ask for, and I’ll keep doing it until everyone around me is simultaneously in a diabetic coma and lining up for double bypass. Come January 1st, however, I am ready for it all to stop. Actually, if we’re being honest I’d be ok with skipping straight to May, when rhubarb comes into season and tomatoes are right around the corner. This has nothing to do with the over indulging that inherently occurs during The Holidays…or maybe it does. All I know is that the chocolate dipped shortbread that sounded so flipping delicious on December 31st now makes me want to, pardon the unladylike expression, hurl.
Folks, I’m not trying to write another one of those Holy Crap It’s A New Year So Let’s All Drink Kale Smoothies For The Next Month blog posts. The Interwebs will be filled with those, if that’s what you’re into. All I’m saying is that I’d really just like to have something that doesn’t require me to wait six hours before resuming normal human activity after eating it.
My answer to this… whatever it is I’m feeling… is soup. Delicious, layered with flavor, doesn’t make me feel like I’ve swallowed a bowling ball soup. A soup kinda like this one…
Roasted Tomatillo-Poblano Soup
Ingredients
8 Tomatillos, husks removed
2 large Poblano peppers, deseeded to your liking (to control heat)
1 medium yellow onion, cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves, smashed
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 T + 1 tsp olive oil
Kosher or Sea Salt
Equipment
Roasting pan
Large soup pot
Knife and Cutting Board
Measuring cups and spoons
Blender
Ladle
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 375. Place the tomatillos, poblanos, and onions in a large roasting pan. Drizzle 1 1/2 T olive oil plus a generous sprinkle of salt over the veggies, and toss to coat. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes.
Heat the remaining olive oil in a soup pot, and add two smashed garlic cloves. Cook on medium heat just until they become fragrant. Add the contents of the roasting pan and the cumin, then give everything a good stir. Make sure the tomatillos are smashed as you stir so they give off their juices. Add the chicken stock and allow everything to simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the contents of the pot to your blender and puree. I like mine to be really smooth. If you like yours chunkier, just stop blending when you reach your desired consistency. Then, pour the blended soup back into your soup pot, check for seasoning (I usually add just a little more salt), and simmer for another 10 minutes or so. Ladle into bowls and garnish with sour cream, sliced radishes, pepitas, or whatever else sounds good.
Poblanos aren’t really all that spicy, but the ones I bought did add just enough of a kick to wake up my taste buds. This soup makes enough so that you’ll probably have leftovers, and you can do a lot with them. It would make a great sauce for smothered nachos or burritos, or you could even make it heartier by adding potatoes and/or diced pork.
If you’re working through your own holiday food malaise, give this soup a chance. Or try your own soup! I’ll bet if you check your fridge and your pantry right now, you’ll find five ingredients that would, with just a skosh of imagination, come together in a delicious, soul feeding soup that will put you well on your way to recovery.