I know it might seem a little early to start making soups but here in Leadville at night it is getting chili so I deiced to try this recipe. It has no meat which is nice to have every once and a while. I really enjoyed it and so did the rest of my family. It full of really yummy veggies. You could make it a lot easier if you wanted to by substituting canned tomatoes instead of fresh and frozen corn instead of fresh.

Succotash-Salsa Soup

INGREDIENTS

4 heirloom or 6 plum tomatoes

2 tbsp. EVOO

2 ears corn, kernels scraped from the cob

1 medium zucchini, finely diced

2 fresno or jalapeño chile peppers, thinly sliced or finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

3–4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp. ancho chile powder or other mild to medium-hot chile powder (about a palmful)

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin (about 1/2 palmful)

Salt and pepper

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed

A small handful cilantro leaves, chopped

1 lime, juiced

2 cups lightly crushed blue-corn tortilla chips, such as Xochitl

1 cup crumbled queso fresco

DIRECTIONS:

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. With a small knife, make “X” marks in the skin at the base of the tomatoes. Place a large bowl of ice water close to the stove. Boil the tomatoes for 30 seconds, then transfer to the ice bath. Peel and finely chop.

While the water comes to a boil, heat a soup pot over medium-high heat with the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Add the corn and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add the zucchini, chiles, bell pepper, onion, garlic, ancho chile powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes. Add the stock, beans and chopped tomatoes and cook to combine and thicken a little, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the cilantro and lime juice; season with salt and pepper. Top with the tortilla chips and queso.