Corn & jalapeno soup – SQ’s own recipe!

I discovered four cobs of sweet corn in my Garden Fresh Box on Wednesday.  I happily ate one with a generous squeeze of lime, kosher salt and some of my hot smoked paprika that is part of my huge collection of spices from The Spice House.  It was very tasty indeed, but I decided to use up the rest in a corn and jalapeno soup.  

I decided to be brave and work without a recipe for this soup.  I figured I knew what flavours worked together – corn, jalapeno, cilantro and lime.  And, it turned out, I was right.  My only mistake was that I added a little bit too much water, but this problem was solved by reducing the soup down by simmering for a few hours.  If I were to do it again, I would use four cobs of corn rather than three, but hey, that’s what I had to work with.

This soup is incredibly easy to make and it is very flavourful. Perfect for people who enjoy lots of spice and also for those on a frugal budget – the soup required very few ingredients.  And it’s a great way to use up extra cobs of corn.

Ingredients:

4 cobs of corn (although 3 will suffice)

1 yellow onion, diced

1 jalapeno, diced and seeded (or partly seeded)

1 clove garlic, minced

6 cups water (approx)

1 lime

olive oil

s&p

1 tbsp tumeric (approx) for colouring; curry powder would also work

dash cayenne pepper

handful cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

Directions

Boil the corn in water until tender, about 5-6 minutes.  Remove corn and reserve the water.  If you reserve the water, it will eliminate your need to use a stock. When cool enough, cut the kernels off the cobs, reserving the corn cobs.  Make sure to cut in half before attempting to cut the kernels; this reduces the risk of hurting yourself.  Warm the olive oil in a large pot and add the diced onion, stirring until softened.  Add the diced jalapeno (seeded if desired – I included a few seeds for extra heat) along with the minced garlic, salt and black pepper and a tablespoon of tumeric and a dash or two of cayenne pepper. After one or two minutes, add the corn kernals, breaking them up gently with a wooden spoon if stuck together, and stir.  You may also add a little fresh lime juice at this time. After a few minutes, strain the water that you used to boil the corn in and add the water to the pot.  Straining is important because it allows you catch any of the little hairs that may have stuck to the corn when you first boiled it. Bring up to a boil and then reduce the heat to let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.  Make sure to taste the soup along the way, adding more tumeric if the soup looks a little grey and adding more spice to taste. Remove from heat, remove the cobs, and let the soup cool slightly. Then puree in a blender.  Once smooth, return to the pot, straining if necessary, and warm again, adding a bit of sour cream near the end, if desired.

The trick to making this soup really tasty is adding a very generous squeeze of fresh lime juice at the end, along with a little chopped cilantro.  If added towards the end, the lime juice will give the soup lots of flavour and will not curdle the sour cream.

I hope you enjoy trying this one. Please let me know if you have any questions.

What’s your favourite thing to make with corn in the summer?