When my brother and sister-in-law got married a few years ago, they were living out of state and I got to attend the catering tastings in their place. I don’t remember much from the second caterer, except the corn soup. It was incredible! Creamy, flavorful, and…vegan??
When we went to the third caterer, we loved everything. At the end, we said, “The only thing that would make this better is a chilled corn soup like the second caterer made.” Lo and behold, they had corn soup on hand! And crispy shallots to top it off! It was absolutely perfect, just like the wedding several months later.
Full disclosure: This is not that soup. It’s pretty darn good though.
Summer Corn Soup
This soup is a little labor-intensive because it involves making stock from the corn cobs. I personally think it's worth it, but you can judge for yourself.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 12 ears corn
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 jalapeno peppers
- 2 red bell peppers
- 1 bay leaf
- 10 black peppercorns whole
- 6 basil leaves
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 tsp butter
- 1-2 tbsp salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Husk corn. Dice onion and mince garlic. Cut jalapeños in half lengthwise, discard seeds and mince. Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise, discards seeds and dice. Chiffonade basil leaves.
- For the corn stock, cut kernels off corn ears and reserves cobs. In large pot, combine cobs, bay leaf, peppercorns, 1 pinch salt and 16 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Place stockpot over medium-low heat and add oil. Add onion, jalapeño and red peppers. Stir vegetables until onions are translucent and peppers are soft but not brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and stir 1 and 1/2 minutes more, until garlic is golden but not brown. Increase heat to medium, and add butter and corn kernels. Add a tablespoon salt, pepper to taste and stir for about 4 minutes. Adds more salt and pepper to taste. Add 6 cups corn stock. Stir broth. Cover pot and lower heat to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Using an immersion blender, purée soup to desired consistency, perhaps leaving some kernels partly broken or whole. Add more salt and pepper to taste and, if desired, smoked paprika. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with basil.
