Happy Day of the Dead 2007

I interrupt the saga of culinary adventures in China to celebrate the Day of the Dead. November 1st, the day after Halloween, is a big holiday in any country with a large Catholic population celebrating all our dearly departed and in Mexico, parts of Central America and many neighborhoods in the U.S., it's known as Dia de los muertos. I'm nostalgically missing Dead bread right now (a sweet yeast bread with lots of spices, often in the form of bones) but we're taking advantage of the national holiday in Italy and having a Mexican dinner party. Among other things, I'm serving "Sopa de chile poblano y espinacas" (Poblano Spinach Soup). As usual, this is adapted from a recipe in Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen

The recipe goes like this:

6 poblano peppers roasted, seeded and peeled
6 cups packed fresh spinach leaves
5 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tsp salt
1 cup smoked ham in a 1/4 inch dice
1 cup cooked potato in a 1/4 inch dice

In a large stock pot, pour in 1 cup of the stock and bring to a boil. Add the cleaned spinach leaves and the poblanos and cook until the leaves are thoroughly wilted. Take off heat and blend with an immersion blender or in a food processor until smooth. A Day of the Dead video to puree soup by: Return to the pot and add the cream and salt, bring back to a boil and add the ham and potatoes. The smoky quality of the ham makes a nice foil to the spice of the poblanos and the richness of the cream. Serve immediately near the tomb of your favorite deceased relative accompanied by plenty of smoking incense and lively mariachi music.

Happy Day of the Dead everyody!