Sweet Corn Soup

Creamy Corn Soup

With all the wonderful local Jersey sweet corn available, I had to come up with some new ideas to use it whether it is fresh or as leftover corn on the cob. I have seen a lot of recipes for soups that contain corn, but this soup is like eating the smooth, pureed essence of corn.  It is lovely as a side dish, but you could also add diced chicken and vegetables to make a hearty main course.

Make sure you use the sweetest corn available, because the better the corn, the better the soup.

Basic Corn Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 cups fresh corn kernels
• Kosher salt and white pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced thyme
• 4 cups corn stock (recipe follows) (you can also use canned low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock, if you’d rather)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup crème fraiche or sour cream
• Hot sauce, to taste

Heat a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium heat.  Add butter and oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan.

Add the corn kernels along with the salt, white pepper and thyme.  Cook corn kernels for about ten minutes, stirring frequently, until the kernels just begin to color.  Watch your heat and don’t let them burn.

Stir in the corn stock, heavy cream and crème fraiche.   Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.  If using sour cream, add it now—you don’t want sour cream to boil, or it will curdle. Taste and adjust seasonings.  Add a few drops of hot sauce, if you’d like.

Remove from the heat and carefully blend in batches until smooth.  When pureeing hot foods in a blender, be sure to only fill the blender jar halfway and to remove the center feed tube to let heat escape.  Start the blender on low speed first, then increase to high.

You can also blend this right in the pan with an immersion blender.  Check the consistency.  If you’d like it a little thicker, continue to simmer until it has reached your desired consistency.  If you think it is too thick, thin it out with a little broth, water or even some more cream.

Strain soup through a fine strainer and serve hot, garnished with a dollop of sour cream or crème fraiche and some freshly minced herbs.

To make a lower-fat version, stir in 3 tablespoons of corn starch or flour along with another tablespoon of oil after you’ve cooked the corn for about eight minutes.  Stir well and continue to cook for another minute or two before adding the corn stock or vegetable stock.

Use 2 cups whole milk in place of the heavy cream and crème fraiche.

How to Make Corn Stock

• cobs from which you cut the corn kernels, cut in half
• 1 large onion, scrubbed but unpeeled, cut into four pieces
• 1 shallot, scrubbed and unpeeled, cut in half
• 6 white peppercorns
• A few thyme stems
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 cups cold water, or enough to just cover the cobs and vegetables

Put all the ingredients in a stock pot.  Add the water.

Bring to a boil, then simmer gently for three to four hours.  Spoon off any scum that rises to the surface.

Strain through a fine strainer.  If necessary, reduce over medium-high heat until you have four cups.

Related Topics

The Reluctant Gourmet Soup Recipes

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Jersey Sweet Corn

How to Make Chicken Gumbo with Sausage

Gumbo is a dish that is all about layering flavors. There’s the roux, which helps to thicken and flavor. There’s “The Trinity,” the Cajun mire poix of onions, celery and green pepper. There are the meats, and there is the filé powder which imparts flavor and thickening.

One of the cooking techniques employed with this recipe is sweating the vegetables. Sweating vegetables is similar to saute but over lower heat and without the browning. You can learn all about this cooking technique on my web site at  How to Sweat Vegetables.

One of the great things about gumbo is that there are probably as many variations of the dish as there are people cooking it.  This can be intimidating or liberating, depending on how comfortable you are in the kitchen.  Here is a basic recipe that will yield a very good, flavorful gumbo.  For those of you who are comfortable with improvising in the kitchen, use this as a template.  Either way, if you’ve never tried gumbo, you really should.

Gumbo with Chicken and Sausage

• 2 oz. flour (scant ½ cup)
• 2 oz. neutral cooking oil
• 5 slices thick-cut bacon, diced
• ½ pound andouille sausage, diced
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 2 bell peppers, diced
• 3 ribs celery, diced
• ½ teaspoon pepper flake, or to taste
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 can light bodied beer
• 6 cups chicken broth, low sodium canned or homemade
• 2 cups cooked dark meat chicken, diced
• 1-28 oz. can whole tomatoes
• ½ pound fresh or frozen okra, cut into ½” slices
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 teaspoons filé powder*, divided

*Filé powder is made from from dried and ground sassafras leaves and was originally used as a substitute for okra when not in season.

How to Make Gumbo

Heat a small, cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Add the oil and then stir in the flour, a little at a time.  Cook, stirring constantly, until the roux is the color of a penny.  Do not rush, and do this over medium to medium-low heat.

In a Dutch oven, cook the bacon and sausage until the bacon is crisp and the fat has rendered out.  Spoon out all but about 1 tablespoon of the fat.

Add the onion, peppers and celery, and sweat over medium-low heat until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Regulate the heat so you hear a gentle sizzle, not an angry sizzle or sputtering/popping. Add a salt and pepper, to taste, the pepper flake, thyme and bay leaves.

Once the vegetables are translucent, add the roux, and stir until well combined. Pour in the beer and bring to a boil. Reduce by about half, turn down the heat and add 2 teaspoons filé powder, the tomatoes and chicken broth.

Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about an hour. Taste, and adjust seasonings.

Add the chicken and okra and simmer for an additional thirty minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons of filé powder and serve over cooked rice.

Like most braises and stews, gumbo is even better the next day. If not serving immediately, omit the last 2 teaspoons of filé powder and add it after you reheat the gumbo the next day.

Related Topics

How to Sweat Vegetables

Some Recipes That Use The Sweating Technique

Butternut Squash Soup

Pomodoro Sauce

Fresh Corn Risotto

Beans and Rice

Sauce for Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

Pan Roasted Veal Chops

One of the dishes I had the privilege of sampling at The Great Chefs Event was this one from Chef Joseph Manzare, chef & owner of a slew of restaurants in San Francisco including Zuppa, Globe, Tres Agaves, and Joey & Eddies. If you have not read my posts about this incredible event to raise money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand, I recommend you check them out.

The Great Chefs Event

The Great Chefs Event - A Huge Success

Chef Manzare started in the restaurant business at age 14 and later trained under Chef Jean-Francois Mettigner and Chef Wolfgang Puck before going to Italy and working at San Domenico in Imola. He was nominated “Rising Star Chef of the United States” for the James Beard Awards while working as Executive Chef at the Royalton in New York.

Maryland Blue Crab Chipachole

Chipachole is a traditional Mexican spicy soup made with crab meat. Chef Manzare’s recipe calls for fresh Maryland Blue Crab meat but I’m sure you can substitute pasteurized crab meat from companies like Phillips when fresh crab isn’t available but you will have to come up with some shellfish stock as a substitute.

This recipe uses Guajillo [gwah-HEE-yoh] chilies that are thick, reddish brown chiles that can be mild to moderately hot.  The guajillo is popular in Mexico and one of the most commonly grown. The Guajillo chili requires a longer soaking period than most due to its leathery skin.

Chef Manzare’s recipe makes 6 portions

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Maryland Blue Crabs
• 1 large onion
• 3 cloves of minced garlic
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 3 pounds tomatoes
• 5 Guajillo chilies, lightly toasted
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 bunch of green onions, diced

How to Prepare

Bring 1 and 1/2 gallons of water plus 1 tablespoon of salt to boil in a large pot. Add the crabs and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the crabs (saving the cooking liquid) and give them an ice bath.

Clean the crabs of their meat, saving all the bones (I’m guessing he means shells because crabs are invertebrates and do not have bones) and innards but discard the lungs. Mix the crab meat with the green onions and set aside.

In a low, wide pot, add 3 tablespoons of canola oil and saute onion, Guajillo chiles, garlic, thyme, black pepper, salt, tomatoes, bones (I think he means shells) and innards from the crab, for ten minutes at high heat. Add the cooking liquid from the crab and bring to a low boil. Cook for 15 minutes.

Puree everything in a blender or food processor and strain through a medium strainer. (I’m not sure I would puree the shells but I will try to find out.)

To serve, pour the soup into bowls and add crab meat with the green onions. Top with cilantro (optional), and serve with Tequila.