Hi again! Before I leave for corn-cation (I'll be spending the fall in pumpkin land), I wanted to share one last (IF I can contain myself, that is) corn recipe. You need to make this with fresh corn muffins with basil, unless you have a fear of corn overload, in which case, stay far far away. But I say you should indulge while you can. You'll regret it when the corn disappears for the year.
And really, this soup is a beautiful thing. Why, you ask? Well, how often do you see corn soups that aren't packed with cream or milk? This? Has nothing of the sort. Sure you see some sour cream in the photo below, but that's simply for topping the corn soup if you choose (plus, I used fat-free). Other than that, the soup becomes creamy all from the help of the corn. And maybe some of your muscle strength. If you have any.
Fresh Corn Soup (serves about 6):
Adapted from Fine Cooking via Summers & Suppers
- 5-6 large ears of fresh sweet corn, shucked
- Kosher salt
- 3 T olive oil
- ½ C- ¾ C cup diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- ½ C chopped celery
- 1 medium red potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- Fresh black pepper
- ½ t cayenne
- 1 small tomato, chopped (optional, for topping)
- Sour cream (optional, for topping)
- 2 T fresh basil, chopped (optional, for topping)
Here we go again, cutting the corn off the cob. Make sure you don't cut too close to the cob. You should have about 3 ½ to 4 C of corn kernels.
But don't throw away those cobs. In fact, I hope your arms aren't tired. Because you've only just begun. Now, take one of the cobs and stand it on its ends in a shallow dish. Scrape as much off the cob as you can, extracting all the "milk" and solids possible. Repeat with the remaining cobs. This is what mine looked like. It took a lot of arm strength. At least for me. But I'm kinda weak. And I was most definitely using the wrong knife.
Now, take those totally bare cobs and break them in half. Put them in a 4-quart pot with 6 cups of water and 1 teaspoon salt (and ignore the fact that I left some kernels on my cobs… Ooops. My arms hurt). Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce to medium low, cover, and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Then you can throw the cobs away, put the liquid in a separate bowl, and set aside.
Put the pot back over medium-high heat and add oil. Sauté onion in the oil for about 3 minutes, until translucent.
Then add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Turn the heat down to medium and add celery. Cover the pot and continue to cook, making sure to stir occasionally for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables soften.
Add the potatoes, pepper, and cayenne. Stir.
Pour in the corn stock. Doesn't that sound lovely? Corn stock. I think I shall cook only with homemade corn stock from now on. In fact, maybe I'll can it and sell it.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover and lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes, until the vegetables are softened enough to puree.
Add all of the corn kernels, except for 1 cup.
Simmer for another 10 minutes.
Now you're ready to puree the soup. For this you'll need either an immersion (hand) blender or an actual blender. I recently got an immersion blender but hadn't had any opportunity to use it for quite some time. This soup made me so just why I needed one. It made everything SO easy. I just stuck the immersion blender in the pot and blended away.
If you need to use a regular blender, just puree the soup in batches and pour it back in the pot when it's all pureed.
Now for the fun part. Taste it. And add more salt or pepper if needed. Add the rest of your corn and all that beautiful corn milk/solid you worked so hard to get.
Simmer for another 5 minutes.
And serve warm or at room temperature, with as many toppings as you choose. I mean, you could even add bacon in there if you so desired. Why not, right?
I'm honestly still kind of amazed that I made a soup so thick and creamy with no cream or milk or anything of the sort, whatsoever. This is just plain corn and was truly one of the creamiest soups I've had. One of life's little miracles, I suppose.
Or maybe it just goes to show what a whole lot of corn and a blender can do.
The color of this soup is just pure happiness. Especially when contrasted with other brightly colored toppings.
If I were smart, I would have made 10 batches of this and froze it for those long winter months. But my freezer is too small and constantly packed (with what? I don't know). Plus, I generally prefer to enjoy seasonal vegetables in-season. Hence why I don't eat pumpkin when it's not autumn. Otherwise, I wouldn't appreciate it half as much during its very special time of the year.
Enjoy this soup. Enjoy fresh corn. And enjoy the rest of the summer. Also, be safe if you're in an area that could be affected by the hurricane this weekend. It's iffy what will happen in the Boston-area, but I'm thinking it will mostly be lots of rain and wind. I've got an exciting event planned on Saturday (I'm interviewing Giada DeLaurentiis!), so I'm hoping the storms hold off 🙂
Then again, this soup is pretty perfect for an end of summer stormy weekend.
Do you have a favorite summer soup?
[Sues]
Sarah @TheExPatBride says
My favorite summer soup is corn soup!!! I love the one that they have at Chili's, but have been looking for a good recipe I can make at home. Will have to give this one a try!!!!
Erica says
Ah-mazing! Great texture. Id love to have some topped with greek yogurt and jalapenos. I love turkey chili in the summer
Betty @ scrambled hen fruit says
I'm so glad you posted this recipe before my corn was all gone! I love the fact that it's nice and creamy without the extra calories of added cream. (And I might even have enough to freeze just a little!) I hope the storm won't be bad in Boston- interviewing Giada sounds amazing! I think that here in VA it's supposed to be bad, but we've already started "battening down the hatches" and preparing to lose electricity. Oh well...at least I'll have soup! 🙂
Jeannie says
A very bright and cheerful soup to brighten up a dull day:D I love the color and I can get corns the whole year round here so I can make this anytime:D Thanks for sharing! Hope you have a great weekend ahead!
Kathryn says
I love the colour of this soup - it sounds so fresh and delicious!
Simply Life says
ha, actually before I started reading your post I went right to the ingredients to see how much cream was in there -something that always turns me off to corn soup...I'm definitely saving this recipe!
Lauren @ Healthy Food For Living says
This looks great! I love pureed veggie soups b/c of their innate creaminess... I remember a cauliflower soup I made this winter that really tasted like it had cream in it. I'm definitely a fan of summer soups (I made a cold avocado soup a few times), so I need to make this corn version!
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
I had amazing corn on the cob this week and am definitely going to miss it... that and blueberries and the variety of fruits... but I certainly am excited for pumpkin!
Emily @ A Cambridge Story says
Reason #4309 that I need an immersion blender. This soup looks delish. A corn soup at Mistral recently changed my life; I'll need to replicate the experience with this recipe!
Claudia says
We are happily knee deep in corn with roasted corn chowder waiting to be made - but I may also give this a go - it just beckons.
Mal @ The Chic Geek says
I loooove corn soup! Maybe I'll make this during the hurricane on Sunday
Michelle says
I'm looking forward to incorporating corn into an interesting breakfast dish I've got planned for the weekend!
Holly says
I am such a huge corn fan. I've had corn chowder but never soup. This sounds wonderful!
Jersey Girl Cooks says
Love this especially since I have 6 ears of jersey corn in my fridge! Thanks!
emily @ the happy home says
i am not a huge corn ON the cob fan, but i really do love corn. i'm on this. it sounds SO good!
Amanda L. (Tales from a Kitchen Misfit) says
This sounds amazing! I can't believe how creamy and rich it looks!
newlywed says
I can't wait to hear about your interview with Giada! The soup looks great! I am always iffy on summer soups...gazpacho is not my cup of tea (err, soup, sorry) and I'm never really craving hot things, but this looks perfect!
Susan says
Another delicious corn recipe! I can't wait to get to the farmers' market to try this and the corn muffins.
I hope the weather holds out for you! What a wonderful opportunity to interview Giada.
Karen says
This corn soup looks delicious! I love that there is no cream in it. Have fun interviewing Giada!!
Kerstin says
What a gorgeous soup - I'm loving both corn recipes 🙂
5 Star Foodie says
A really delicious corn soup here, nice!
Jaime says
looks delicious! great way to get your veggies 🙂
Daisy says
corn-cation = awesome!
JenniferC says
This sounds awesome, but one part is confusing to me - why do you need to cut the cobs twice?! Can't you just cut off all the kernals as close as you can to the cob, getting all the milk and everything in one go? I've read this recipe twice and still just don't get it, so hope you can help me out 🙂 Thanks!
Sues says
@JenniferC Hi! I'm guessing it's because it would be really difficult to get all the milk solids with one cut of the corn. You really have to get close to the cob and it's much easier to do if the kernels are already removed. Also, you puree most of the corn kernels in the soup, but you don't puree the milk, etc. 🙂