Calabacitas Chowder

A few years ago I had the opportunity to stay in Albuquerque. NM, for an extended period of time. During my stay I fell in love with all things hatch green chile. I had green chiles in the past, but growing up in the Atlanta area, nothing came close to comparing to these! Best of all, they were used in almost everything and in ways I would have never imagined. 

So here I am, back in Atlanta, and still loving (and missing) hatch green chiles. While at Trader Joe's one day I came across frozen hatch green chiles and was so excited to find them. Inspired by these tasty peppers and enjoying the flavors of summer these last few weeks before the Equinox, I have created a Calabacitas Chowder. Calabacitas is squash in Spanish, and was another dish I discovered in New Mexico. I have combined each of these elements into a tasty, hardy vegan chowder. I hope you give it a try and get a little taste of my love of New Mexico. 

Calabacitas Chowder

• 2 Tablespoon grapeseed oil, split
• 1/2 large vidalia onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ​3-4 summer squash, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 1/2 cup corn (about 3 ears if using fresh, shucked)
• 1 1/2 cup pinto beans, prepared (1 can rinsed and drained can be used)
• 1/2 cup Hatch green chiles, diced (I used frozen, which I find better than canned. I'm sure fresh is even better but not an option where I am)
• 1/2 cup cashew cream (see note below)
• 3-4 cups vegetable stock
• salt and pepper to taste

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1. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Once hot, add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. Add squash and saute. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once squash starts to break down, add 1 cup of vegetable stock and simmer covered until squash becomes translucent, about 10 minutes or so. Transfer squash to a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Mixture will be on the thicker side, smoothie like consistency.
2. With squash mixture set aside, add oil to soup pot and allow it to heat over medium setting. Once hot, add corn to the pot. Saute corn until it begins to brown slightly, about 5 minutes. 
3. Add beans followed by cumin and coriander. Stir well and allow to cook for about 2 minutes.
4. Add green chiles and stir.
5. Add squash mixture, lower the heat to low or medium low, and stir to incorporate everything together. 
6. Add in your cashew cream. This will thicken the chowder even more. If too thick add more vegetable stock until you reach your desired consistency. I recommend adding 1/2 cup at a time. Allow this to simmer over low heat for another few minutes. Stir to prevent any sticking to the bottom of the pot.
7. Taste soup and add additional salt and pepper if needed. 
8. Serve and enjoy! 

** To make the cashew cream for this soup I soaked 1/2 cup raw cashews for 2 hours. Drain cashews after soaking, add to high speed blender, and add 1/2 cup vegetable stock. Blend until smooth.