Roasted Pork and Tri-Chili Soup

I have been holding onto this recipe (mentioned in the last post) for a while, saving it just for you.  This soup came about at the end of November with the leftover roasted pork from our Thanksgiving pig.  I don’t expect you to go out and purchase an entire pig for roasting just so you can make this soup.  Although, that is one of the most special and amazing things about this soup.  You can purchase sauce-less roasted pork (intended for barbecue) in your local grocery store that would work great.  Or use your left overs of any roasted or braised pork.  If pork isn’t your thing (even though is should be), a store-bought rotisserie chicken will be delicious.  And, ok, you know what… you could even make this vegetarian, just add more beans.  Yay for options!

Oh, and if you only see two chilies, chipotle and guajillo, in the recipe, don’t despair.  The third is red bell pepper.  It is technically a chili and not a pepper.  It, along with several other chilies, was just named “pepper” a long time ago before a taxonomic distinction was made.

Roasted Pork and Tri-Chili Soup

1 lrg onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz)
1 lrg roasted red bell pepper*
1 lrg dried guajillo chili
1 lrg chipotle in adobo, chopped
1 Tbsp minced garlic
4 C water, divided
1 C rice
1 C cooked black beans**
1 1/2 C shredded roasted pork
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
salt, pepper, and oil

In a large pot, heat about 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat.  Saute onion until translucent, ~5 minutes.  Add garlic, tomatoes, bell pepper, chipotle, guajillo chili that has been de-stemmed and seeds removed, and 2 C water.  Turn heat up to med-high and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Puree soup base with an immersion blender.  (If using an upright blender or food processor, allow base to cool before pureeing.)  Add the rest of the water, bay leaf, cumin and coriander.  Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to a boil.  Add rice.  Cover and reduce heat to low.  Cook for 15 minutes.  Add beans and meat.  Turn heat back to medium and simmer, loosely covered, for another 10-15 minutes.  Adjust final salt and pepper to taste

Serves 4.

*You can use a jarred roasted red bell pepper (not marinated), but fresh is better.  Place oven rack near top and turn on broiler.  Put whole pepper on a cookie sheet and into oven.  Turn several times during cooking to make sure skin gets evenly charred.  The skin should turn dark brown/black and start to blister.  Place in a plastic bag or a bowl sealed with plastic wrap while still hot and allow to cool.  Skin will peel off easily.

**Canned black beans are perfectly fine, just make sure they are drained and rinsed well.