Stephen Albert
Just picked garden corn makes a rich, sweet soup. Make this corn soup with sweet corn, water, and some onion. Serve hot or cold.
Choose ears of corn with fresh, green husks. The top of the cob should be rounded rather than pointed. If the silk is brown and slightly dry, the corn is ripe. When you press a thumbnail into a kernel, it should spurt milk.
To remove corn silk, pull of the husks and rub the silk under running water. To remove kernels from cob, hold the cob vertically and run a sharp paring knife down its length.
Keep in mind that unrefrigerated sweet corn loses much of its sugar within hours of being picked—so the quicker you get your corn harvest on the table, the more flavorful.
This recipe takes about 45 minutes to prepare. If you want to serve it chilled, add about 3 hours refrigerator chilling time.
Sweet Corn Soup
Yield 6 servings
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 5-6 medium ears yellow corn, husks and silk removed (1½ pounds)
- 4¼ cups of water
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Shuck and remove the silks from the ears of corn.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the corn, cover, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. (You can roast or grill the ears instead of boiling them—this will give you a smoky flavor.) Drain corn. When cool enough to handle, slice kernels off the ears with a sharp paring knife.
- Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and ¼-cup of water. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the remaining water and corn kernels to the simmering pot for the last 2 minutes
- In two small batches purée the soup in a blender. (Be careful when blending hot soup.) Strain puree through a medium-mesh strainer into a large bowl, pressing to squeeze out the starchy corn juice, and throw away the fibers and skins. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
- For hot soup, gently reheat the soup and then divide into heated bowls. For cold soup, chill soup until cold, at least 3 hours, before serving.
Notes
Garnishes:
- Garnish hot soup with a purée of roasted green sweet pepper and butter or crème fraîche.
- Garnish cold soup with a few drizzles of basil oil: a purée of ¼ cup just wilted basil and ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil.
Serve with crusty French bread.
Courses Soup
Corn articles at Harvest to Table:
How to Plant and Grow Sweet Corn
How to Harvest and Store Sweet Corn
Seven Ways to Cook and Serve Sweet Corn
Corn Chowder and Summer Flavors
Grilled Corn with Seasoned Butter
Baby Corn Cooking and Serving Tips
Corn, Beans, Squash: The Three Sisters
Corn Growing Problems Troubleshooting
Corn Earworm Organic Pest Control
