roasted corn and chipotle soup

My resolution to try new recipes has become a family venture now. Help!

I've my husband and both kids hunting for recipes everywhere. It is boring now if I cook my regular set of dishes. Let me set the record straight and tell you that the number in that list is by no means small.

I'm now constantly making trips to the grocery store to shop for new ingredients. For this soup, it was chipotle chili. I'm also richer by one cool cooking gadget. It is a specialty tool for removing corn kernels from the cob. It looks like a peeler and works very nicely.

The story for this recipe goes back to summer of 2009. We went to Santa Fe, New Mexico for the July 4th weekend. We enjoyed the trip very much. In fact we could try out some new restaurants too. For a vegetarian, this is usually not the case while traveling. Venka still remembers the names of the restaurants that we visited. Southwestern cuisine lived up to all the hype, even for us grass eaters. We tried this soup in Santa Fe first. So when I was looking for new recipes, Venka researched and found the recipe. Maybe by next year he'll go the extra mile and cook it too :-)

So here it is, Roasted Corn and Chipotle Soup.
This didn't taste exactly the same as what we ate in Santa Fe. However everyone liked it and I've made this twice already. Just go easy on the chili if you like it mild, it can be very spicy.
The recipe is from the Internet, modified a bit by me.

Ingredients:
5 ears fresh corn, husked
2 red bell peppers
2 jumbo russet potatoes, peeled
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, cut in small dice
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups vegetable broth
2 canned chipotle chiles, removed from their sauce, seeded and finely diced
2 tomatoes, cut into small dice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Directions:
Roast corn directly over a gas burner, turning until all kernels take on a smoky hue.
Cut kernels from cobs, reserving 2 cobs.

Roast bell peppers, turning as skin blackens on each side. Place roasted peppers
in a plastic bag; seal and let steam while you prepare other ingredients.

Cut 1 potato into small dice; set aside.

Quarter remaining potato and cover it with water in a small saucepan. Cook
until tender, about 15 minutes. Mash this potato coarsely with a fork; set aside.

Melt butter in the pan, add onion; saute until translucent, 7 to 10 minutes. Add garlic;
saute a few more minutes.

Deglaze pan with the broth. Add reserved corn cobs, diced and mashed potato, chipotles and tomatoes.
Bring to a boil; season with salt and pepper. Simmer until potato pieces are cooked through, about 25 minutes.

While soup is cooking, peel peppers. Discard seeds and membrane and cut flesh into small dice.

Remove cobs from soup and add corn kernels, roasted red pepper and cream. Simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes.
Adjust for seasoning.

Serve with warm tortillas/rotis or bread.

Serves 12.

Note: You usually can find canned chipotle chiles in the Hispanic food isle in supermarkets.
Remove the peppers from their sauce, wash and dry them if you like them milder. Then slice them in half. Scrape off the seeds and mince into a pulp.
Any remaining peppers, when kept in sauce and tightly wrapped, will keep well in the refrigerator for a few weeks.