Santa Fe Chowder

I love having soup at least once a week during the winter.  It's warm, comforting and delicious.  It also makes great leftovers for lunch.  I discovered this soup about a year ago in the cookbook Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special.   As you can see from the recipe, it has a LOT of ingredients.  It is mostly vegetables, put there are a fair amount of potatoes and some cheese for richness.  This soup uses a great technique for creating a thick, rich-tasting soup--  after cooking all of the vegetables, you puree about half of the mixture.  The result is very, very good.  This has been my favorite soup for the past year.  It is perfect with some sourdough bread.

Santa Fe Chowder

Serves: 4 as a main dish

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 small jalapenos, seeded and chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup peeled and diced carrots
• 4 cups diced potatoes (a mixture of sweet potato and regular; washed, but not peeled)
• 4 cups water
• 1 medium green pepper, diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1 small zucchini, diced
• 2 ounces Neufchatel or cream cheese
• 1/2 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup milk (fat-free okay)
• crushed red pepper flakes (optional, to taste)

DIRECTIONS:

1)  Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onion, garlic, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, oregano and salt.   Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes.

2)   Add the carrots, potatoes, and water.  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes.

3) Add green pepper, can of tomatoes, corn, and zucchini.  Cover and cook for about 15 minutes over medium heat until vegetables are tender.

4)  Once vegetables in pot are tender, scoop about 4 cups into a blender.  Add cheeses and milk to blender.  Blend until smooth.  Then, stir back into the pot to combine with the unblended vegetables.

5) Taste and add crushed red pepper flakes if desired.

(recipe adapted from the Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special cookbook)