Spicy Chicken Soup

Janet here:

I'm officially done with winter. Yes, I KNOW it's only the beginning of March and that this means the likelihood of more snow and yuck for at least a month here in the Northeast, but I've really kind of had it and am trying not to think about how I am not going to a Caribbean island this month as I have for the last two years, which clearly is what I SHOULD be doing and the gods are just against me.

Anyway, I needed a tasty soup to satisfy my clearly Vitamin-D depressed soul and came up with this one on Sunday. Warning: If you don't like spice, this one isn't for you. On the other hand, you can amend to make it as mild as you want so there it is. I served it with ciabatta with melted cheddar and tomatoes on top, and a nice salad. We ate by the fire and for a minute, I could forget that freezing rain — yes, freezing rain — was in the forecast for later that night.

What do you cook up when you're trying to feel better about the weather?



Spicy Chicken Soup
serves 6

ingredients
olive oil for sauteing
1 medium red onion, diced
2-3 red chili peppers, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
2-3 chipotle peppers, diced
1 15 ounce can black beans
1/2 bottle of beer (Dos Equis would be in keeping with the Mexican flavor but all we had was Bud so Bud it was)
1 heaping teaspoon paprika
1 heaping teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
1 rotisserie chicken, skinned and shredded
28-ounce can of fire-roasted tomatoes
2-3 cups of vegetable or chicken stock

method
Saute the onions and peppers in olive oil for a few minutes. Then add spices, beans and beer. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes. Simmer some more. At this point, I put about half the mixture into the blender to make the soup a little thicker. Add the stock and chicken and simmer for a while until you're ready to serve.