Seasonal cooking—oh, yeah, it sounds deeply chi-chi. But nothing is much better than taking advantage of the current fruit and vegetable crop. We’ve had a remarkably good year for peaches, the tomatoes are marvelous, and then there’s the corn. Ah, yes. We have it at least a couple of times a week au naturel, and then there’s this remarkably tasty soup.
Completely vegetarian, it makes a great first course with its irresistible combination of sweet corn, the hit of salt from the cheese, and the occasional pop from the chiles.
I suppose one could frozen corn or even canned, but I can’t imagine it would be as good. To cut corn off the cob, I’ve fond it easiest to stand the corn on end in a large pan, like a 9"x 13" baking pan, and slice downward on the cob. Use the dull side of your knife to scrape the cob after you’ve done the slicing to remove the kernels. The large pan is necessary; those kernels like to fly across the counter.
The original recipe calls for 3 1/3 cups of half-and-half, but I’ve cut it back some. The Tabasco sauce isn’t immediately apparent in the flavor; it just pushes the whole taste forward in the mouth. For the chiles, I usually use jalapenos or serranos, roasted on the stovetop, peeled, seeded and cut in fairly small dice, but I suppose canned ones would work in a pinch.
The recipe is from the out-of-print Frog/Commissary Cookbook, although I omit their croutons.
4-5 ears of fresh corn, to yield about 3 cups corn kernels
1 c. water plus 1 1/3 c. water (added later)
1/4 c. butter
2 Tbsp. minced onion
2 c. half-and-half
1 tsp salt
1 tsp. Tabasco
1/4 tsp. black pepper
about 3 Tbsp. diced roasted hot green chiles
8 oz. Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese, shredded
Cut the kernels from the corn cobs and whiz them with 1 cup of the water in a blender or food processor to make a coarse puree. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until it’s soft and translucent. Add the corn puree and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. It should be simmering. Add the half-and-half , 1 1/3 cups water, salt, Tabasco and black pepper. (If serving the soup later, you may refrigerate it now.)
Reheat gently, but do not bring to a simmer. Ladle into bowls and top with shredded cheese and roasted chiles.
Serves 5.
–Ann