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Monday, July 4, 2011

Pasilla Spiced Pea Soup

This is an attempt to make use of the dried peppers I ordered earlier this year. Part of that order were some pasilla peppers.



Pasilla chillies are a milder pepper with a scoville rating of 1000-4000. Popular in Mexican cuisine. When fresh they are called chiaca. Although they are almost always encountered dried; in this state, it is referred to as a pasilla. The pasilla has a dark brown color and a smoky flavor. This is milder than the jalepeno pepper at 2500-8000. There is a good wiki page of pepper ratings here


IngredientsCaloriesFat (g)Sodium (mg)Carbs (g)Protein (g)
457g dried Yellow Peas 1577 12 55 277 101
2 med. Onion (202g) 85 0.2 6 20 2
2 med. Carrots (140g) 57 0.3 97 13 1
2 Celery Stalks (97g) 14 0.2 78 3 0.7
1 garlic bulb (37g) 55 0.2 6 12 2
2 pork hocks (yeild: 727g) 1818 124 7125 7 153
2 tbsp oil 240 28 0 0 0
5 dried pasilla chillies (45g) 146 3 41 31 5
1/2 tsp salt 0 0 190 0 0
Pepper to taste
1/4 c dried oregano 37 1 2 8 1
2 tbsp dried thyme
2 tbsp dried parsley
12 Bay Leaves
4 roasted red peppers 57 0.4 4 13.6 1.9
Totals 4086 169.3 7604 384.6 267.6
Per 12, 2c servings 340 14.1 633 32 22.3

The day before roast the red peppers, put in a sealed container to steam and then remove the skins & seeds and chop.
Also put the dried peas in a bowl and cover with water.

Dice the onion, celery and carrot. Finely dice the garlic or pass through a garlic press. 

In a your soup pot on medium heat add the oil, vegetables and garlic and the 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. Sweat the veggies with the lid ajar. When the vegetable begin to stick add the pork hocks, drained peas and enough water to cover. Add the bay leaves, oregano and pasilla peppers. Bring to a boil and simmer for 90 minutes or until the peas are cooked.

When the peas are cooked remove the pork hock and let cool. Remove the meat from the hocks. Dice the meat and add back to the pot.

Remove the bay leaves.


Remove the pasilla peppers and place in a blender. Removing the stems from the peppers. Add some of the cooking liquid or some water to the blender. Whiz up the peppers until smooth and add back to the pot.

Add the roasted red pepper and the oregano, parsley and thyme. Top up with water if needed. Bring to a boil again and serve.

Thoughts
  • It did come out a bit spicy. If you don't like spice then cut back on the peppers. 
  • I am surprised by the amount of sodium. Next time I would use only one pork hock. This would cut back dramatically on the amount of sodium.This would have cut back a bit on the protein but it still would have enough.
  • The flavour seemed a bit thin. I should have used a home made chicken stock instead of water. I did have some store bought broth but it is also high in sodium. I guess I have to get off my lazy ass and make my own stock. Always better than commercial stock.
  • After having another serving I can tell that the peas are not fully cooked. This is likely due to the salt in the pork hock. Another reason to use only one.
Enjoy!