Poblano potato soup is winter comfort food…with a Mexican twist and in a fraction of the time with your Instant Pot!
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A fresh week, a delicious soup, and a brand new cookbook…
For this real food blogger, it really doesn’t get any better than that – specifically that last part. A sparkling new cookbook filled with so many amazing possibilities! My dear blogging friend for so many years, Emily, from Recipes to Nourish sent her second cookbook, “Amazing Mexican Favorites with Your Instant Pot” to me this weekend, and authentic Mexican food makes this momma so happy!
Fun Mexican favorites…and some new ideas!
I’ll be the first one to admit that my Mexican food comfort zone revolves around the basics…tacos, fajitas, and maybe a little tortilla soup, so I was really happy to step out of my comfort zone and learn a few new food ideas from this beautiful cookbook. There are so many great taco, burrito, and fajita ideas that I can’t wait to learn how to make in my Instant Pot, but there are also a handful of recipes that I have never heard before…and that my friends, is where the magic lies…
Giving your kids the gift of a broad taste palate…
Here’s the deal dear momma! When your goal is creating broad taste palates for your kids, it goes so much further beyond just eating their broccoli at dinner. I honestly didn’t know how the girls were going to like this soup, but what I DID know, was that they were going to happily come to the dinner table that night, even if there was new food in their bowl. Mealtime has been, and always will be positive, and they have been exposed to a variety of flavors from early on. The flavors in this book are super authentic, and this soup is bold and SO amazing…and all 3 of them liked it – my oldest in this picture ate 2 bowls (she adored it!).
That spark in her eye…
She asked to look through the book more and I love that it sparked an interest for a different culture of food. We talked about where Rudy, Emily’s husband, has family roots, and while she knew where Mexico was on the map, it was really cool to see her eyes light up learning about the food culture there. THIS is where it’s at dear momma. Don’t be afraid to put different cultures of food, bold and bright as they may be, in front of your kids. They will grow into adults that appreciate the variety in culture that surrounds us, and have a deep appreciation for food!
Winter comfort food…with a Mexican twist!
SO, let’s talk about this amazing Poblano Potato Soup! I have definitely had my fair share of potato soups – we LOVE creamy and comforting potato soups in the winter – but THIS! This potato soup has the most delicious Mexican twist to it. The smoky paprika flavor, and the mild, sweet heat from the poblanos was so surprising to me. It really was so different…and we adore this soup!
Breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
Since I made the Poblano Potato Soup for the first time at the beginning of the day, I ended up eating the bowl of soup for my breakfast with a side of eggs and figs – it was so satisfying, not to mention FAST using my Instant Pot! The fiber and slow burning carbohydrates in potatoes along with the cooking fat and my side dish protein made for a really balanced meal. My girls ate theirs with fish sticks for dinner – it was a real hit!
A quick note on the heat for your littles
All 3 of my girls loved the taste of this soup at first. Like I said earlier, my oldest ate 2 bowls and really enjoyed every single bite. My younger 2 girls, who are still a bit sensitive to heat, started heating up after about 3 bites. They both said they wanted to keep eating it but their mouth felt too spicy. I asked Emily personally where the heat was coming from – was it the poblanos or was it the smoked paprika? She is thinking it is more the peppers, so I am planning on making this soup again and cutting back on the poblano peppers by 1 or even 2. My poblanos were…HUGE – as you can see in the photo above! It could have just been that too! I LOVE that each recipe in the cookbook has a spicy heat level attached – mild, medium, and hot. This soup recipe is labeled as “medium,” and so it makes sense that my littles found it to have more heat than they are used to. I felt like most of the recipes in the book were labeled as mild, and the ones that are labeled hot or medium, are easily adjusted for heat if you have little guys not used to it.
Notes for my dairy free friends
Since we don’t tolerate dairy, I did swap the cream for a mix of coconut yogurt and coconut milk – I think all coconut milk would be fine too. I did not taste the coconut. I also left the cheese out. I think it would taste even more amazing with the cheese, so if you can tolerate the dairy – enjoy that!
Poblano Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 3 poblano peppers
- 3 tbsp 42 g butter, ghee or avocado oil
- 1 leek white and pale green parts only, sliced
- 5 fresh garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp dried dill
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 3 russet potatoes peeled and chopped
- 4 cups 1 L chicken broth or vegetable stock
- 1 cup 230 g sour cream or 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream
- ½ cup 55 g shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- ½ lb 225 g pan fried Spanish style chorizo, sliced into small pieces
Optional Toppings
- Sour cream
- Freshly chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to broil with a rack in the highest position.
- Place the poblano peppers on a baking sheet and broil until they start to blacken, about 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and when cool enough to handle, carefully peel the blackened skin off. Remove the stems and discard. Coarsely chop the peppers, then set them aside.
- Add the healthy fat of your choice to the Instant Pot and press “Sauté.” When the fat has melted, add the leek, sautéing for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the garlic, salt, dill, paprika, cumin and black pepper and continue to sauté for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Press the “Keep Warm/Cancel” button. Add the potatoes, roasted peppers and broth.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, making sure the steam-release valve is sealed. Press the “Manual” button and set for 9 minutes. When the Instant Pot is done and beeps, press “Keep Warm/Cancel.” Using an oven mitt, “quick release”/open the steam-release valve. When the steam venting stops and the silver dial drops, carefully open the lid.
- In batches, ladle the soup into a blender, taking care to fill only about half of the blender (hot liquids will expand, so please use caution). Blend on a low setting just until puréed and combined. Add the puréed soup back to the Instant Pot and press “Sauté,” bring to a boil and give it a few stirs. Add the sour cream and cheese and stir until fully combined. Turn off the Instant Pot by pressing “Keep Warm/Cancel.”
- Serve immediately garnished with browned chorizo and the toppings of your choice.
Notes
Looks so warming and yummy!
I love this soup. It’s so heart warming and healthy delicious!
some seriously tasty flavors in my mouth!! Yum, thanks Renee!
Yummy!! Pinning to try this one as soon as possible. Love the flavours!
Potato and chorizo are a match made in food heaven! Great soup for cold days!
I absolutely love this cookbook! Everything looks so delicious, including this soup!
Roasted poblanos are SUCH a great idea for this soup. It looks amazing, as usual, and I love that I can whip this up in my Instant Pot!
Seriously love this cookbook. Can’t wait to make this one!
This looks so creamy and delicious! Sounds like there are so many great recipes in this cookbook for the whole family. Love how you expose your girls to different flavours and food from different cultures 🙂
So yummy! I love these flavors and that browned chorizo on top, so special. Yes, a great bowl of Mexican soup in the winter is hard to beat!
This looks deliciously comforting and so much flavor going on in it!
This soup is as comforting as it can get + it has Mexican flavors that I like – great recipe!
That looks incredibly comforting, and I love how involved your girls always are in the kitchen such precious memories they’re have!
So excited to try this recipe for my Mexican-cuisine loving husband!!!
I hope you enjoy it Stephanie!
I made this soup again tonight and genuinely loved it! I feel so warm and toasty, and so accomplished to have made such a delicious treat. Ten stars!!