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.

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