Potato And Chile Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Cut cleaned and unpeeled potatoes into large cubes (about 1 to 1 1/2 inches). Bring water and potatoes to a low boil, cooking until the potatoes are tender.
• While potatoes are cooking, place oil and onions in a skillet and cook until onions are cooked soft and translucent but not brown. Add peppers, cumin, basil and garlic and continue cooking until peppers are tender, about 6-9 minutes.
• Place potatoes and three quarters of the water into a blender or food processor, reserving the remaining water. Blend until smooth.
• Return processed potatoes to pot, adding peppers and milk. Use reserved water to thin the soup further if desired. Warm over low heat until it is ready to serve.
• Garnish with scallions or cilantro if desired.

Steps:

• Combine the first 6 ingredients.
• Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer 20 minutes.
• In a separate pan, melt the butter over low heat, add flour and blend until smooth.
• Cook the roux over low heat for 3 minutes, constantly moving it so it will not scorch.
• Strain liquid from potato/chile mixture and reserve 3 cups of the liquid.
• Mash half the potato/chile mixture, reserving the other half.
• Stir the reserved cooking liquid into the roux, raise the heat and whisk with a wire whip until thickened.
• Add milk to thickened liquid and continue to stir until it comes to a simmer.
• Turn off the heat, add mashed and unmashed potato/chile mixture.
• Serve topped with shredded cheese on top.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove some of the excess paper from the head of garlic, leaving the bulb intact. Rub the bulb with 2 teaspoons oil and place it in the center of a rimmed baking sheet.
• In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes, onion and cumin seeds with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Spread them in a single layer on the baking sheet and roast until the sweet potatoes are slightly caramelized and tender and the garlic has softened, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest until the vegetables are cool enough to handle, about 8 minutes.
• While the vegetables roast, prepare the chile oil: In a small saucepan over medium, heat the neutral oil, taking care not to burn it. (Measure the oil's temperature with a thermometer; it should read about 325 degrees. You could also test the temperature with a Sichuan peppercorn: It should sizzle when tossed in.)
• Once the oil is hot, remove it from the heat, add the red-pepper flakes, garlic and Sichuan peppercorns. Cover with a lid and let steep for at least 20 minutes. (The oil can be prepared a day ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.)
• Transfer the cooked sweet potato mixture to a blender. Squeeze the softened garlic pulp out of the cloves and add the pulp to the blender. Add 1/4 cup stock to the baking sheet and scrape off any bits that have stuck to the pan. Add the stock and bits to the blender. Add the remaining stock, the black pepper and turmeric to the blender and purée on high speed until smooth and creamy. Taste and add salt as needed. Transfer the soup to a medium saucepan and rewarm over low as needed.
• Divide the soup among bowls. Give the chile oil a stir and drizzle the soup with a generous tablespoon or two. Serve immediately.