Habanero Tomato Soup

Do no get scared off by this title – I ‘only’ used 1 habanero in the pot of soup and it was just spicy enough for me to feel it in my nose a little but without being too killer.

We had a whole bunch of tomatoes in the fridge that would have gone bad on the counter. They had spots that needed to be cut off of them and I wasn’t sure what to make for dinner. We also had some leftover Enchilada Pulled/Shredded Chicken (I just shredded all of the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken and heated it with a can of store-bought enchilada sauce which I doctored up with some extra cumin and such). I decided to make a Mexican Tomato Soup & of course our over-abundance of habaneros seemed like a logical choice to fit in with this!

This is an easy “after-work” meal. The first few days of school (and a long Labor Day Weekend) have thrown me off my normal schedule – but this soup has me back to my normal kitchen adventures, I have missed it! To create this meal I litterally just threw tomatoes in the blender & thought about flavors. Then pureeded batches of tomato & friends went into the pot to be heated/reduced/tasted/enjoyed. Perfect with a quick quesadilla on the side to finish off the “Mexican Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Dinner” theme.

Habanero Mexican Tomato Soup

• 8 cups pureed tomatoes (I just threw tomatoes in the blender and the amount of tomatoes I had which were ready to go ended up being about 8 cups – feel free to be flexible here
• 1 habanero (or jalapeno, whatever your tastes enjoy)
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 roasted red pepper (from the jar or fresh – whatever)
• 2 sun-dried tomatoes (I have a jar in olive oil in the fridge)
• 1 medium onion
• 1 – 2 cups shredded chicken (if you don’t have leftovers: approx. 1 large breast – just boil and shred it)
• 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
• 1 Tablespoon cumin
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt (to taste) & 1/2 t pepper (to taste)

Working in batches, place all of your ingredients (except chicken – if using)) in the blender. I started with whatever fit in the blender & then dumped and went back to the blender for more. Place pot over medium heat and allow to come to a boil. Skim off the bubbly parts that rise to the top. I allowed this to simmer for about 30 minutes and thicken up quite a bit – allow it to just become as thick as you enjoy your soup!

Serve in bowls with some shredded cheese and sour cream. The ideal sour cream was mine that I mixed with some of my tasty Salsa Verde. Serve with a quick pan-sauteed quesadilla & enjoy the Mexican flavors of Tomato Soup

And I leave you with this, Today’s Question of the Day… When do you know when something is too spicy – how do you walk that line?