Chicken, Chile and Tomatillo Soup

Heat oven to broil. Seed and slice red bell peppers so that each slice is flat. Put a tablespoon of the olive oil in the bottom of a roasting pan and wipe with a paper towel to oil the entire bottom of the pan. Spread cut red peppers, whole tomatillos, whole poblano chilies, and whole jalapenos over the pan. Broil to blacken the skins of all the vegetables, turning to blacken on all sides. Watch carefully. It will take 15 to 20 minutes. As each of the vegetables blacken, remove and put in a metal bowl and cover with foil or plastic wrap. When all of the vegetables are blackened and in the bowl seal it tightly. Let them sit for 10 to 15 minutes to steam. Reserve any liquids that are left in the roasting pan and in the bowl.

Put the ears of corn in the roasting pan and briefly roast the cobs under the broiler, turning as they darken. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Put garlic in a food processor and whirl until finely minced. Add onion and pulse to coarsely chop.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large soup pot. Add garlic and onions and saute over medium heat for 15 minutes until soft and beginning to caramelize.

Add tomatoes, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, and chile powders to the onion and garlic mix. Cook another 2 minutes.

Add chicken stock, thighs and oregano to pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove chicken from the pot and set aside to cool. Keep the pot of broth on low.

Return to the roasted vegetables. Using your fingers, slip peels off the red peppers and chop them into 3/4″ squares. Chop the tomatillos, removing and discarding the hard core. There is no need to peel the tomatillos. Remove the skin and seeds from the poblano and jalapeno peppers and coarsely chop. Add the the blackened vegetables, the black beans and any reserved liquid from the tomatillo roasting pan to the soup pot.

When the chicken has cooled, shred it and add it back into the soup pot along with any reserved juices. Cut the corn from the cobs and add it into the soup pot.

Season with salt and pepper and adobo sauce. Turn heat off and stir in cream. Serve in individual bowls and garnish with lime squeezes, cilantro, grated cheese, tortilla chips and avocado (optional).