Chicken Soup with Chipotle Paste

Name: Chicken Soup with Chipotle Paste
Yield: makes 4 servings
Ingredients: 7 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade (page 159); 2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice; 2 celery stalks, cut into 1/4-inch dice; 1 medium to large onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice; 4 to 6 dried chipotles, to taste; 1/3 cup long-grain rice; Salt and black pepper to taste; 2 garlic cloves, peeled; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 1 teaspoon dried oregano

December 14, 2011

A staple in Mexico, often garnished with diced raw onion, avocado, tomato, and a squeeze of lime. You can make the chipotle paste by buying canned chipotles in adobo (sold at almost all Latin markets and many supermarkets) and simply whizzing them in a blender. The results, however, are searingly, blindingly hot and not at all like what you get in restaurants in Mexico, where the paste is made from scratch. Fortunately, making the paste from scratch takes all of 20 minutes, 10 of which are spent soaking dried chipotles (available at most places that sell dried chiles or online at www.penzeys.com and other mail order sources). The lovely brick-red paste, used in small quantities, converts the blandest chicken soup into something hot, smoky, and delicious. Leftover paste is also great on broiled or grilled chicken or pork or stirred—again, in small quantities—into poached or steamed vegetables.

Recipe information

Yield
makes 4 servings

Ingredients

7 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade (page 159)

2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 celery stalks, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 medium to large onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice

4 to 6 dried chipotles, to taste

1/3 cup long-grain rice

Salt and black pepper to taste

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Preparation

Step 1
Put the stock in a saucepan with the carrots, celery, and onion; bring to a boil. Soak the chipotles in just-boiled water to cover for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat so the stock simmers steadily and, when the carrots are just about tender, add the rice, salt, and pepper and stir. Bring back to a boil and continue to simmer.
Step 2
When the chipotles are soft, remove them from the liquid; open them up on a cutting board and, using the back of a knife, scrape out all the seeds and stems. Combine the chiles in a blender with the garlic, tomato paste, oregano, and a large pinch of salt. Add either sufficient chicken stock (you can use some from the simmering soup) or, if you’re extremely heat-tolerant, the soaking liquid, to allow the blender to puree the chiles and other ingredients well.
Step 3
When the rice is tender—this will take about 20 minutes—taste the soup and adjust the seasoning. Divide among 4 soup bowls, passing the chipotle paste at the table and warning your fellow diners about its intense heat.

The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved. MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.

TagsSoup Soup/Stew Mexican Latin American Chipotle Chile Vegetable Chicken Poultry Starter Dinner Dairy Free Gluten Free Nut Free Simmer Blender Cookbooks

Recipe information

Ingredients

Preparation

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Recipe notes