Chorizo, Corn, and Potato Soup

I love soup in the winter time. Not much beats coming in from shoveling the snow and being greeted with a steaming hot bowl of soup. My problem is that my winters are painfully busy. Between coaching basketball and keeping up with daily work, I find it difficult to find the time to make a hearty soup. I suppose I could make a canned soup, but even the good ones like Progresso just don’t do it for me. My solution has been to take care of my winter soup addiction during the summer. Every Monday, I will make a new soup and put half of it in the freezer for later use. The other half, I’ll eat on and write recipe reviews on this site.

I get most of my recipe ideas from epicurious.com. I will provide a link to the website at the end of the review so you can compare my soup with the original recipe if you’d like.

Soup: Chorizo, Corn, and Potato

Date: July 7, 2008

Ingredients:

3/4 pound chorizo

a splash of extra virgin olive oil

2/3 cup onion, chopped

3 jalapenos, seeded and chopped

3 cups (24 ounces) low sodium chicken broth

1 cup water

5 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

10 oz. frozen corn

3 tablespoons lime juice

¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

salt and pepper

cheese and sour cream (optional)

The How To:

Brown chorizo in a frying pan over medium-high heat. When cooked thoroughly, drain off all grease and rinse meat. Set aside for later use.

In a large pot, heat the oil and add the onions and jalapenos. Cook over medium heat until onions are soft (about six to eight minutes).

Once the onions are soft and golden in color, add the broth, water, and potatoes and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft and ready to be mashed. Stir occasionally.

Remove potatoes from mixture and mash with a fork. Make sure all large potatoes have been properly mashed. Return potatoes to mixture.

Add corn and browned chorizo. Simmer for three minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add lime juice and cilantro. Salt and pepper as needed.

When serving, top with cheese and sour cream (optional).

Review:

I loved the way the soup was spicy (from the jalapenos and chorizo) and sweet (from the corn and potatoes) at the same time. ¾ lb of chorizo is way more than the soup needs; use ¼ to ½ pound, depending on how much of a meat-lover you are. I thought the lime juice and cilantro were a bit overpowering as well. I would reduce the amount of each of them if I were to make the soup again.

Overall, the soup had a very distinct taste. It is very hearty (especially if you add as much chorizo as I did) and can be a meal within itself. I think it will freeze well and can’t wait to eat it again this winter!

Grade: B

Click here to view original recipe.