Spicy Corn and Chick Pea Soup w/ Chiles

This recipe is adapted from Field of Greens by Anne Sommerville.  The Greens restaurant in San Francisco is a terrific vegetarian place, elegant and delicious.  Although the book is quite bare bones, i.e. not one photo in the whole thing, everything I have made from it is beautiful and tasty.  The original recipe called for soaking dried chick peas for an hour, using the resulting liquid as the broth base for the soup.  I am lazy, so I use boxed veggie or, gasp, chicken broth and canned beans.  It is a great cold weather soup with very clear and distinctive flavors.

1 large yellow onion, diced

salt

1 1/2 t cumin (preferably whole seeds, toasted over heat and ground)

1/2 t dried oregano (no, you don't have to grow it, dry it and flake it.)

cayenne pepper

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 large yellow or red bell pepper, diced

2 ears of corn, shaved, or 2 c frozen

1/2 c hominy (look for it in the Hispanic section of Ralphs or your local supermarket)

1 can chick peas

1 28 oz can of tomatoes w/ juice, chopped

1/2 t chipotle puree (get a small can in the Hispanic section, puree contents of can in blender or food processor, put in tupperware and leave there for a very long time after using it for this recipe, or you can mix a bit into mayo for tuna, or look for my chicken salad #2 recipe elsewhere on this blog)

2 green jalepenos, seeded, coarsely chopped and pureed w/ 1/2 c water (yes, this is the biggest pain of this recipe, but necessary.)

2 Q chicken or veggie broth

2 t lime juice

1 T chopped sage (I just used rubbed since it was in the pantry.)

Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium heat.  Add onions, 1/2 t salt, toasted cumin and oregano and add a pinch of cayenne pepper.  Saute until onions are soft, about 7-8 min.  Then add garlic, peppers, corn and hominy.  Cook for about 5 min and then add the chickpeas, tomatoes, 11/2 t salt, chipotle puree  and the broth. 

Season the soup with the jalepeno puree (I used the whole 1/2 c), lime juice, sage and you can add a pinch of sugar to brighten it up if you want.  Cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes.  Season to taste with salt.  You can pretty it up with cilantro if you want before serving.