Alfredo Garcia

Creamy Poblano Soup

 With your oven on the broiler setting, or over a gas stove, char the poblano peppers, once blackened all over, cover them to steam for 5-10 minutes(In a plastic bag works best. Once steamed, removed as much as the charred skins as possible, cut a slit down the middle and remove all the seeds. Chop 2 of the poblanos into strips or smaller pieces, the other 6 will get blended up.

 In a large Dutch oven, heat up the oil and butter. Once hot, add in the diced onion and minced garlic. Cook for 5-7 minutes.

 Add in all of the spices and cook for 4 more minutes then turn off heat and let cool down.

 To a blender(working in batches if needed), add the 6 whole poblanos, cream cheese, spinach, onion/garlic mixture and chicken broth. Blend until smooth and creamy.

 Once blended, add back to the pot on medium heat.

 Stir in the heavy cream to combine and the 2 diced Chiles poblanos.

 Slowly add in the 1 cup of cheese until fully combined.

 Serve in bowls and top off with cilantro, crema and queso fresco. You can also make quesadillas to serve and dip into the soup.