Chayote and poblano soup

Soups and Salads — By Ben on 16 January 2009

chayote_poblano

Brrrrr! It is cold today. The thermometer read -11ºF (around -23ºC) when we woke up this morning. That is cold. But I don’t mind it. Even though I like every season of the year winter is still my favorite. What’s not to love? Cold and short days to snuggle, watch movies or read a good book next to a fireplace while the snow covers the world with a white cold blanket. Oh so beautiful!

Anyway, this time of the year calls for a lot of comfort food and what is more comforting than a bowl of soup? Yesterday I made this soup with two ingredients that I have presented to you before on this blog, chayotes:

and poblano peppers:

Chayote and roasted poblano soup
Makes 4 servings

For this recipe you will need:

2 chayotes

4 cups chicken broth

1 large poblano pepper, roasted and cleaned (click here for a video on how to roast peppers)

1/2 onion

fresh cilantro (optional)

salt and pepper

oregano

parsley flakes

cream, green onions and queso fresco for garnish

Note: I don’t include the amounts for spices because they should be used according to taste.

Preparation:

Clean chayotes (click here for a video on how to prepare chayotes) and boil them in chicken broth until tender.

Blend chayotes, poblano pepper, onion and cilantro with about 1 cup of the chicken broth until smooth.

Return to the pot with the rest of the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to slow, add seasoning and spices and cover.

Simmer for 15 minutes or until the soup thickens. Stir constantly.

Serve and garnish with cream, green onions and queso fresco.

Print this recipe

There you have it, a spicy soup that will bring you back to life in this freezing weather.

¡Buen provecho!

I am sending this recipe to the following events, please click on the badges to learn more about them.

Tagged as: Chayote, Comfort food, Mexican food, Poblano peppers, Soups & Stews

« « An all-American pasta dish | Crepas enfrijoladas » »

About Author

Ben

grew up around food. His family owned a restaurant in Mexico City and he spent a big deal of his childhood helping and learning after school the art of creating delicious dishes from simple ingredients. He created this blog to share his kitchen adventures with the world.

(25) Readers Comments

Peter G
January 16, 2009 at 10:43 am

I’m the opposite! Stinking hot (though slightly cooler today!)…nonetheless, the soup looks comforting and delicious. Not to mention spicy!

Reply
Deborah Smith
January 16, 2009 at 10:57 am

Wow, this is different. Beautiful pictures too. What makes this spicy? I thought the poblanos were mild.

Reply
Jill@SimpleDailyRecipes.com
January 16, 2009 at 11:16 am

OH yeah, I’m hungry now!
I have a bag of jalapenos on the counter with a recipe for
cream of jalapeno soup waiting to be explored.

Thanks for making me drool

Reply
Judy
January 16, 2009 at 11:25 am

The soup looks great! I haven’t had chayotes is that what makes this soup spicy?

Reply
- BOB RATLIFF
  August 4, 2011 at 1:22 pm
  
  No Chayote has little taste.
  bob
  
  Reply
MyKitchenInHalfCups
January 16, 2009 at 12:35 pm

You can have my heart for a pot of this soup!! Gorgeous photo of the roasted poblano.

Reply
Peter
January 16, 2009 at 12:59 pm

Ummmm, the roasted poblanos are enough for me, just a hint of heat. I must try chayotes…on the list.

Reply
Francie
January 16, 2009 at 1:28 pm

Ben, Once again, poblanos RULE! Love the new look and the recipe is to die for, as usual!

Reply
Madeleine
January 16, 2009 at 1:51 pm

Ben, que rica! creo que ya tengo la sopa que cenaré la próxima semana, porque además no es muy engordativa!!!!

Saludos!!!

Reply
The Duo Dishes
January 16, 2009 at 3:32 pm

We just took a stab at a chayote soup too that we’ll post next week! Wow, funny you just did one. Those chayotes take a whole lot to give ‘em flavor, but they’re really good.

Reply
Teresa
January 17, 2009 at 12:53 am

Hi there Ben. You know, I’ve never had chayote. I’ve heard of it, but have never had the opportunity to try it. But your soup looks so delicious I’m going to try and find some at the supermarket this weekend. Besides, anything made with poblanos has got to be good. Bien hecho corazon.

Reply
Ivy
January 17, 2009 at 2:59 am

I’ve never heard of chayote before and it’s great that you had the pictures as well and the video. With all these lovely ingredients this is definitely a soup I would like.

Reply
joan nova
January 17, 2009 at 9:50 am

Ben – that’s a very nice soup. And pretty too! I imagine the addition of the pepper gives the soup another level of flavor.

Reply
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)
January 17, 2009 at 6:09 pm

Whenever I see chayotes in my local market (which is not often, believe me), I want to make things that I can freeze and save for the times when chayotes are nowhere to be found. Any idea if this soup would freeze well?

Reply
giz
January 17, 2009 at 9:21 pm

I almost feel sorry for you with -11. Come to Canada – we invented cold. Pass the soup – we’re really freezing over here

Reply
Heidi / Savory Tv
January 19, 2009 at 1:00 am

Ben! That looks wonderful, and your photos are stellar as always!

Reply
Jude
January 19, 2009 at 10:38 am

I always wonder what to do with chayote… they look like grumpy old women on store shelves

Reply
Elle
January 19, 2009 at 2:50 pm

I never know what to do with those when I see them in the store–what a great idea!

Reply
[eatingclub] vancouver || js
January 19, 2009 at 10:45 pm

I buy chayotes but I never know what to do with them. I give up and ask my mother to just stirfry them. This gives me a new idea. Thanks!

Reply
- BOB RATLIFF
  August 4, 2011 at 1:24 pm
  
  Chayote is so bland it will go with almost anything. We have plenty of the here in the panama mountains. A quick salad is chayote, onion, tomato with mayo. A GOOGLE search will give you plenty of recipes.
  
  PANAMABOB
  
  Reply
Nuria
January 20, 2009 at 10:43 am

I love soups Ben! And I love to listen to you talking about winter . You DO love it!!!! I like it but not as much…
When I lived with my parents, during winter days, we would always have a bowl of soup for dinner.
I don’t find chayotes here… is it similar to a zuchinni?

Reply
JAH
January 31, 2009 at 10:02 pm

Made this as the soup dish for a dinner we had with some friends of ours. They all loved it! Thanks!

Reply
Barbara Freeman
February 4, 2009 at 5:24 pm

Hi, My daughter sent me this page and we both made this soup, somewhat differently, but similar and WOW, it’s a keeper! I used a whole onion, a bit of red pepper flakes, duck broth (it’s what I had on hand) and two poblanos. Sauted the onion, added the flakes, squash and broth,… cooked while I did the peppers and then added them. After all was tender, did it all in the blender. Wow, nice and spicy! Thanks, I never used chayote before.

Reply
Patsy
May 16, 2009 at 9:32 am

I like the chayote cooked with chicken and tomatoes in my iron skillet. I add cumin and a hint of chili powder, but I bet that poblano (growing in my garden right now) would be good to add. I will definitely try your soup recipe even though it is summer!!

Reply
Nancy Nevada
June 26, 2009 at 7:25 pm

What I love about this recipe is although it uses two unique ingredients to my kitchen, that is the base of them. It is not as if I have to buy a ton of extra to experience the flavors of the chayote and the poblano; it’s a very economical meal.

That said, we all we had, pretty much, was chayote, poblano and broth. We decided to experiment a tad. I thought ‘mole’ and added a touch of dutch processed cocoa to mine. It was great! That said, I secretly think it was a little better pre-mole – the simplicity of the flavors was light and spicy. I do wish we had cilantro handy; that would have added a lovely flavor component.

Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!

Reply