It’s soup season. And this Minguichi — a chile and cheese soup from Michoacán in Western Mexico — is a flavorful, regional Mexican dish that will make a great addition to winter menus (and it works just as well in the summer, when corn is at its freshest, too!).
Recipe and photo courtesy of Culinary Institute of America
Makes 6 servings
3 cups seeded and quartered plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons butter
2 cups minced onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
4 cups corn kernels, thawed if frozen
2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cups Chicken Broth
2 roasted poblano chiles, peeled, seeded, cut into strips
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
5 oz queso Manchego*
Purée the tomatoes through a food mill or in a blender and reserve.
Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the butter and melt it. Add the onion and garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion is tender and translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the corn and sauté until heated through, 5 to 6 minutes.
Add the puréed tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the broth and continue to simmer until the corn is tender and the soup is flavorful, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the roasted poblano strips and simmer until they flavor the soup, about 5 minutes. Add the milk and cream and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes.
Remove the soup from the heat. Divide the cheese equally between 6 warmed soup bowls. Ladle the hot soup over the cheese and serve at once.
*You can stir the cheese into the entire pot of soup just before you serve it, but we like the way the heat of the soup melts the cheese while you eat it.