I love the thought of soup. I love the reality of soup. At a dinner party, a soup course means the evening is bound to be full of good things and well-thought out. It means your host likes you enough to dirty a round of soup bowls.
This soup is velvety and mild. The salsa has little or no heat but it’s loaded with flavor. It’s a nice accent to the beans and potatoes. The cream is the sign that this is a holiday.
Like many good dishes, this was born of leftovers. Some beans, some potatoes and some salsa. Voila! A soup course and it’s perfect for Thanksgiving. Even with traditionalists, there’s some wiggle room with soup. Grandma’s green bean casserole may be sacred but you can try out new things for the soup course. And of course beans, potatoes, chiles and this oregano are all indigenous to the Americas and the perfect way to say Happy Thanksgiving.
Alubia Blanca-Potato Soup with Cascabel Chile Salsa
Serves 4 to 6 as a soup course.
1/2 cup cooked Alubia Blanca, Royal Corona or Ayocote Blanca beans
2-1/2 cups cooked potatoes (about 3 medium potatoes), cubed
2 cups liquid made up from leftover bean broth, potato cooking water or a combination
3 tablespoons Cascabel chile salsa (see below)
2 tablespoons Crema Mexicana or sour cream
1 teaspoon of Rancho Gordo Oregano Indio
salt to taste
In a large saucepan, add the beans, potatoes and cooking liquid. Blend with an immersion blender (or in batches with a countertop blender) and then gently heat on medium low heat for about 10 minutes.
When the soup is hot, add the salsa, crema and Rancho Gordo Oregano Indio. Add salt and check seasonings. Serve immediately. Garnish with more oregano, if you like.
Salsa de Chile Cascabel
(from a recipe by Diana Kennedy)
10 Rancho Gordo Cascabel Chiles, wiped clean, seeds and veins removed, seeds reserved
12 ounces canned whole peeled tomatoes, drained
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
½ teaspoon salt
About 2/3-cup water
Toast the chiles over medium heat on a comal or dry skillet, turning them constantly so that they don’t burn. Remove from heat.
Toast the seeds to a deep golden brown, turning constantly or they will burn.
Blend all ingredients together for a minute or two in a blender, adding a little more water if necessary; the sauce should have a loose consistency, but will thicken as it stands.
