Soups – Cream of Poblano with Corn

Click here to go to printable recipe: Cream of Poblano with Corn

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History Tidbit: As I have mentioned before, in Mexico, the month of September is known as “el mes de la patria” (“Patriotic month”, or “month of our homeland”).  It begins with “El Informe de Gobierno” (the “State of the Nation” report) by the president on September first, established as an annual event in 1917; this year was president Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO)’s fifth report.  Next is September 13, reserved for the remembrance of “Los Niños Héroes”, a group of young Mexican cadets who fought against the American invasion of 1847.  The month of September also witnessed the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence, with a call for freedom (“El Grito”), on September 15, 1810 at midnight.  Finally, in 1821, a proposal letter to end the cruel war, and grant Mexico an exit from Spanish rule, promulgated as “El Plan de Iguala”, culminated on September 27 of the same year, with the triumphant arrival in Mexico City of “El Ejército de las Tres Garantías”  – Independencia, Religión y Unidad (the “Army of the Three Guarantees” – Independence, Religion and Unity),  marking the birth of Mexico as an independent entity.

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Poblano peppers are now available all year round in many supermarkets in Mexico, and even other countries, but in the olden days, it was a highly anticipated seasonal vegetable for the month of September; coinciding with this month’s many national festivities, the dark green peppers would be (and still are) featured in dishes such as rajas con crema (poblano strips and cream), and the emblematic chiles en nogada (stuffed poblanos in walnut sauce).

This cream of poblano is also a classic in Mexican cuisine; roasted poblanos are used blended and in strips for extra flavour, and with the addition of heavy cream and seasonal fresh corn, this nurturing soup provides a fiesta of flavour all on its own, or as a first course in a semi-formal or formal dinner.

Cream of Poblano with Corn –

Crema de poblano con elote 

Printable directions: How to roast, peel, and prep poblano peppers

Printable recipe: Cream of Poblano with Corn

Ingredients

4 poblano peppers; washed
2 ears fresh corn
1 cup heavy cream; at room temperature
¼ white onion; peeled, and chopped
2 cloves garlic; peeled
½ tsp salt, plus more, to taste
½ tsp black pepper, or to taste
1 tbsp butter
Water, as needed

Start with fresh poblano peppers:

Following the directions from the link above, roast them, peel and discard the skin, remove stem ends and seeds, and slice into strips: 

Reserve about half a cup of the best-looking strips, then place the rest in a blender jar.

Good fresh corn is still available in Southern Ontario:

Remove and discard husks and silk, then wash corn ears, and place in a large pot with plenty of water; place pot on the stove over high heat, and bring water to boil (photo below, left).  Cook the corn for five to ten minutes, then turn off the heat.  Remove the corn, and reserve the pot with water.  Allow the corn to cool down for a few minutes, then shave the kernels off the cobs, using a sharp knife, transferring the kernels to a measuring cup (photo below, right):

Discard cobs, and reserve kernels; there should be between one and a half, and two cups.

In another large pot over medium heat, melt the butter (photo below, left); add chopped onions and peeled garlic, and sauté, stirring to coat with butter (photo below, right):

Continue cooking until the onions are translucent, then remove pot from heat.  Reserve butter in the pot, and add the onions and garlic to the poblano strips in the blender jar, along with half a cup of liquid from cooking the corn, and half a teaspoon of salt (photo below, left).  Process until very smooth (photo below, right):

Return the pot with butter to medium heat, then pour the sauce from the blender (photo below, left).  Add two cups of liquid from cooking the corn to the blender jar, swirl to rinse, and pour into the pot with the sauce (photo below, right):

Bring to a gentle boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer, cooking for another five minutes.  

Add reserved poblano strips (photo below, left), and reserved corn kernels (photo below, right):

Continue simmering and stirring occasionally to prevent the soup from boiling.  Add about a quarter of a cup of soup to the cream at room temperature, and stir, to blend, and temper the mix.  Slowly pour into the soup (photo below, left).  Adjust seasoning with ground black pepper, and more salt, to taste, and continue cooking and stirring until the soup is hot, but not boiling (photo below, right):

Serve hot, including some poblano strips and corn kernels with each scoop:

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Sometimes soups with cream are besmirched as hard to make, mainly because the heavy cream tends to separate when added to a very hot pot.  Four measures help prevent this ordeal: 1)  Allowing the cream to reach room temperature, 2)  Mixing in some of the hot liquid to temper it, 3) Keeping the liquid in the pot hot but not boiling,  and 4)  Adding the tempered cream slowly.

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I am bringing my recipe to Full Plate Thursday #658 with Miz Helen @ Miz Helen’s Country Cottage.

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I am also sharing my post at Thursday Favourite Things #626, with Bev @ Eclectic Red Barn, Pam @ An Artful Mom, Katherine @ Katherine’s Corner, Amber @ Follow the Yellow Brick Home, and Linda @ Crafts a la Mode.

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I am joining Fiesta Friday #502  with Angie @ Fiesta Friday, this week co-hosting with Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.

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I am sharing my recipe at What’s for Dinner? Sunday Link-Up #437 with Helen @ The Lazy Gastronome.