Back to the Cutting Board

Chipotle Chicken Chowder

adapted from Cooking Light

Dinner, Soup | Servings: 8
Prep time: 15 min | Cook time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Total time: 1 hour 30 min

Ingredients

• 1 can (7 oz.) chipotle chiles in adobo sauce*
• 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 cups roughly chopped onion
• 1 cup roughly chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped celery
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 6 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 2 medium red potatoes (about 12 ounces), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn (not thawed)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup chopped seeded plum tomato**
• 1 chopped red or green bell pepper***
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 tsp. salt (or more to taste)
• 8 lime wedges

* If you’ve never bought these before you can find them with in the same aisle as salsa and other Mexican food.

** Do you know how to seed a tomato? Well, I didn’t until recently so don’t feel bad if you don’t. It’s quite easy: Just cut the tomato in half lengthwise and scrape out the insides with a spoon.

*** Feel free to omit the bell pepper, but if you do, double the amount of tomatoes.

Process

1. Remove one chile (Or two if you like things really spicy. I added an extra half of one the second time I made this recipe and it was almost too spicy for me, but I’ll admit to being a wuss with spicy foods.) Finely chop the chile and set aside. Keep the can out because you’ll need it later. There will still be a lot of chiles left over, but you can freeze them for another use.
2. Heat 1 tbsp. oil over medium heat in a large pot (with a lid) or Dutch oven. Add chopped chile, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, cumin, oregano and thyme. Cook 7 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring frequently.
3. Stir in broth and bring to a boil.
4. Add chicken; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20-30 minutes or until chicken is tender and cooked through. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon, and cool slightly.
5. Remove pot from heat to cool for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, shred chicken with 2 forks. Cover with foil to keep warm.
6. Place one-third of the cooled broth mixture in a blender; process until smooth. Pour pureed broth mixture into a large bowl. Repeat procedure in two more batches with remaining broth mixture. (This would be much easier if you have one of those handy-dandy hand blenders. I am getting one soon!) Return pureed broth mixture to pan.
7. Stir in potatoes and corn and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, uncovered, 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
8. Meanwhile, heat 1 tsp. of oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add chopped bell pepper and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
9. Stir in chicken and cream, and simmer 5 minutes.
10. Remove from heat, and stir in 1 tsp. adobo sauce from your can of chipotle chiles (if you don’t like things super spicy, start with 1/4 or 1/2 tsp. and taste it). Add in tomato, bell pepper, cilantro, and salt.
11. Serve with lime wedges. This is also great with cornbread ^[1].