A late summer, early fall chowder made with leeks, summer squash, corn and roasted green chile.
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Dice the roasted green chile. Set aside.
Calabacitas – Calabacitas is a traditional New Mexico early fall dish of summer squashes, corn, and green chile. Some versions add tomatoes and others add cheese.
The Squash – Any summer squash or combination of summer squash can be used. I prefer yellow squash or one yellow squash and one zucchini. When cooking the squash, be sure to cook it until it is translucent and soft, and blend it long enough for a nice puree’. It makes a great base for this soup because it is extremely flavorful and yields a wonderful texture. If you don’t like squash, I can guarantee that you’ll still love this dish. It’s not the least bit “squashy”.
Corn -Use fresh corn (cut right off the cob), frozen or canned, whatever you have on hand. Fresh white sweet corn is absolutely delicious!
Green Chile – There is no substitute for New Mexico’s roasted, chopped green chile; however, if you can’t stand the heat or you don’t have green chile, then just roast up a couple of poblanos, or red or green bell pepper. You won’t get the heat with the bell pepper, but the flavor will still be quite good.
Leeks – If you don't have leeks, you can substitute onion or a combination of leeks, onions, shallots, scallions – any of it works.
Cream – Half and half or a milk substitute like almond or soy milk are best. Anything thicker, like cream or evaporated milk yields too heavy of a chowder.
Toppings – You really don’t need much. I usually go for color and texture like some chopped parsley, bacon, and / or chopped avocado. A drizzle of chile infused oil works quite well.
Recipe author: MJ of MJ's Kitchen