Cream of Green Chile Soup

Decades ago, our favorite lunch was Cream of Green Chile Soup and blueberry pie at Duarte's Tavern in Pescadero, California. Ever since, I have tried (ohhh, so many times!) to make a version of that soup! My first really successful try used sweet red chiles (Cream of Red Chile Soup), and that was good. But not green. I tried Hatch green chiles (here's a  reasonable Stew recipe), but OMG! Too hot! Then I tried a variation on Chile Verde, but that used too many tomatillos for the soup I remembered. Now:

Cream of Green Chile Soup

Preheat oven to 400°

• Wash ~15-20 Anaheim chiles and place on a baking sheet in the top rack of the oven. Char  both sides, approximately 20-30 minutes per side. Put cooked chiles in a covered bowl and let rest 5-15 minutes. Discard seeds, stems, and peels. Put flesh in a blender. It's easier to peel them first: roll the chile between your fingers to first loosen the peel from the flesh, then break the skin and pull it off! If this doesn't work, never fear: use a knife to scrape the flesh from the peel.
• Place unpeeled garlic cloves (~ 1 head worth) on a baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven. Cook until soft, approximately 20 minutes. Squeeze garlic into blender.
• Start with 1/4 cup roasted and prepared Hatch green chiles* Chop 1 onion, and cook (covered) with chiles in a little chicken broth till soft (~10 minutes). Add to blender.

Blend everything till smooth, adding chicken broth as needed to facilitate, and pour into large pot.

Add:
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon coriander
1 teaspoon ground thyme
chicken broth to total ~16 oz
Milk/cream to desired consistency

Simmer till flavors blend, ~10 minutes. Adjust flavors* - add salt, pepper, and ground cloves as needed.

Serve with warm crusty sourdough bread, lots of butter, and have warm blueberry pie for dessert!

~~~
* Since chile heat can vary, start with 1/4 cup, then increase after tasting.
If hatch chiles are not available, wash 2-3 Serrano chiles, remove seeds and ribs (remember to coat your hands in olive oil, or wear gloves!), and chop.