With fried foods taking center stage, Chanukah meals can feel heavy. The antidote: Soup! Not only is a warming bowl of soup perfect for a winter night, depending on the ingredients it can serve as a light starter or something more substantial to round out your fried-food menu.
Kit Carson Soup
This soup recipe can work for both: If serving as a starter, it works well as opening course. For a main course, be generous with the recommended toppings and serve your favorite latke recipe for your starter. The soup is pareve, so you can offer both sour cream and applesauce as latke toppings, avoiding one of the more controversial Jewish food debates.
This recipe for Kit Carson Soup featured in our Chanukah Foods edition, Nov. 27. The tested version turned out just as good as the description. This is a great, simple, filling winter soup!
Kit Carson Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 large clove garlic, chopped
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped (usually available in the aisle with Mexican foods) RMJ: We used 2 for a spicier kick
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped (or 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved) RMJ: We used 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 8 cups vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup white rice, uncooked RMJ: We used long grain rice.
- 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup corn kernels
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 ripe avocado, peeled and sliced
- Tortilla chips
- 6 oz. cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
Instructions
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Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic, chipotle pepper and tomatoes and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the cumin and oregano. Pour in the stock. Bring the liquid to a boil, lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the rice, beans and corn, cover and cook for 18 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper.
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Serve each bowl of soup with 2 to 3 tortilla chips on top, leaving room in the center. Scatter the cheese in the center, then add the avocado slices on top.
