New Mexico Harvest Soup
This soup celebrates the bounty of New Mexico’s harvest, but it’s delicious any time of year! There are also some easy substitutions, depending on what you have in your pantry:
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For blue corn meal: Use yellow cornmeal or corn flour (masa harina).
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For zucchini and/or yellow squash: Try butternut or acorn squash, sweet potato or even pumpkin!
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For red-skinned potatoes: Use any thin-skinned potatoes that don’t need peeling, for example Yukon Gold or purple potatoes.
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 carrots, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 2 celery stalks, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 2 large tomatoes, chopped
- 1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
- ½ yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and sliced
- 4 medium red-skinned potatoes, chopped
- 2 tablespoons blue corn meal
- 2 tablespoons chopped mild roasted green chile (canned or frozen)
- 5 cups broth, chicken or vegetable
- 2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, ground
- ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon mild red chile powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes over medium high heat until softened.
- Add the celery and carrots. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often.
- Stir in the diced tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, and potatoes.
- Stir in the blue corn meal and chopped green chile. Add the broth, canned pinto beans (and liquid), bay leaf, cumin, oregano, red chile powder, salt, and pepper.
- Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, partially covered, for about 15 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender.
- To serve: Ladle hot soup into bowls and serve with whole wheat croutons, crackers, or tortillas.
