Cheesy Poblano Pepper and Potato Chowder

Hearty and comforting… this cheesy poblano pepper and potato chowder really hits the spot!!  Savory and complex, it’s bound to be your new favorite!

Soup is the quintessential Fall food… and this chowder is no exception.  Rich, hearty, and comforting, it’s everything you want a soup to be!

You know how there’s those nights when you just need comfort food?  It’s not a want or a desire… it’s a need.  Yesterday was the epitome of a “Monday”… nothing seemed to go right, we were under a high wind advisory and I spent the day chasing down grill covers that were blown off our patio, and wincing every time I heard another tree branch hit our roof.  One branch fell and ripped the gutter off the side of the house…. just one of those days.  So dinnertime rolled around, and it was definitely a comfort food night.

Sometimes I want a big bowl of pasta, a pizza, some macaroni and cheese or a big piece of cake… but last night was a soup kind of night.  Meat-free, but hearty… this cheesy poblano pepper and potato chowder really hits the spot!!  It was also one of those times that  the recipe didn’t turn out like I wanted.  Happens to the best of us… it took twice as long to get the potatoes tender.  But now I’ll know for the next time 🙂

The recipe starts off with roasting some poblano peppers… you can do this several ways.  I chose to pop them under the broiler, turning to char them on all sides, but you could also place them over your gas burner to char them or roast them in the oven.  Regardless of how you do it, once they’re charred and roasted, place them in a ziploc bag, seal it, and leave it sit for 20 minutes.  Once they’ve rested, you can peel the skin off with your fingers, the back of a spoon or knife, it should slide right off.  Then you can remove the seeds and chop them up.

You can see the steam filling up the ziploc bag… that’s a great thing

While the peppers are resting, cook some bacon in the bottom of a dutch oven or stock pot.

Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate and keep the bacon grease in the pot.  Add in some chopped onion, garlic, celery and green pepper.  Saute them for several minutes, until they’re soft and translucent.

That’s right, cooked right in the bacon grease! *drool*

Toss in some russet potatoes that have been peeled and chopped into cubes, add in diced poblano peppers.  Stir to combine and add in your chicken stock and salt.  Stir and let it come up to a boil, then cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.  Check with a fork, you don’t want any undercooked potatoes in your soup!

Once your potatoes are tender, stir in the milk and flour mixture and let simmer, covered, for another 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat, add your cheese and stir to combine.

Serve topped with a little extra cheese, sliced scallions, and crumbled bacon strips.

Some nice, crusty bread is a perfect partner for this soup 🙂  This soup is creamy, rich, slightly spicy from the poblanos, and hearty with the chunks of potato.

Recipe adapted from Eat Live Run

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Cheesy Poblano Pepper and Potato Chowder

Course: Entree, Soup

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Hearty and comforting... this cheesy poblano pepper and potato chowder really hits the spot!! Savory and complex, it's bound to be your new favorite!

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Ingredients

• 3 poblano peppers
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 1 green bell pepper diced
• 3 russet potatoes peeled and chopped
• 2 stalks of celery diced
• 4 slices of bacon
• 2 tsp garlic minced
• 1 qt chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 cups of milk (next time I will do 1 cup milk and 1 cup of half and half for a creamier soup)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

Instructions

1. Roast the peppers, either over the flame on your gas burner, broiled in your oven, or roasted in your oven. Once they are charred, remove to a ziploc bag, seal, and let rest for 20 minutes.
2. While your peppers are resting, cook your bacon in a large dutch oven or stock pot. Fry until crispy, then remove to a paper towel lined plate. Keep the bacon grease in the pot.
3. Add your diced onion, garlic, celery and green pepper. Saute for 6 minutes over medium heat, until they are tender and soft.
4. While they are sauteing, remove skin from poblano peppers with your fingers, or the back of a spoon or knife. Remove seeds and chop. Peel and chop potatoes.
5. Add cubed potatoes and diced poblanos to the pot, stirring to combine. Pour in chicken stock and add salt.
6. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
7. Whisk flour into milk, and add mixture to the pot, stirring well to combine everything.
8. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
9. Turn off heat and add cheese, stirring well.
10. Serve topped with extra cheese, sliced green onions, and crumbled bacon pieces