Southwest Corn and Onion Soup

Two things that usually don't go together are soups and the season of summer. However, some people like soups any time of the year, so the trick is to create a soup that goes with the season, and yet isn't necessarily a cold soup. While cold soups are nice and refreshing, they aren't always satisfying and don't always fill you up. During the summer, we are lucky enough to either be harvesting our own food from our own gardens, or have wonderfully fresh vegetables available at local farmer's markets. You should take advantage of these freshly obtained vegetables. Not only are they much healthier because the didn't travel for thousands of miles, but they will taste phenomenally better. Teri and I like soups, though I don't take the time to make them at home very often. While at the restaurant today, I needed a quick soup du jour, and really didn't want to build another bisque, something that while filling just doesn't fall into the summer soup classification. So after a quick run through the walk-in (walk-in refrigerator), I came out with a bunch of corn, celery, and other veggies that I knew would go together. What I ended up with was a really tasty soup that fit the bill for what was a mild summer day (mild by Texas standards anyway).

Ingredients:

6 ears fresh corn – remove the husk and slice off the kernels
5 stalks of celery – cut on the bias (cut at an angle)
1 large onion – cut Frenched (cut in ½ and sliced into small, thin wedges)
½ cup sun dried tomatoes – sliced julienne
½ cup roasted red bell peppers – small dice
(either canned or fresh roasted, if fresh roasted, seed and skin)
4 cloves garlic – minced
¼ cup dry sherry (not really necessary, but I like to deglaze the pot before adding stock).
¼ cup fresh lime juice
3 or 4 Tbl Canola/Olive Oil (blended at 80/20)
2 qt Chicken Stock (preferably homemade, but good store bought stock works as well)
2 or more qt water (use filtered or bottled, or good ranch water)

Seasonings:

Kosher Salt – to taste
Fresh Ground Black Pepper – to taste
4 Tbl Ancho Chili Powder
2 Tbl Ground Coriander
2 or 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme
3 Tbl Fresh or 1 Tbl dried Oregano

Method:

This is a really easy soup to make, though the ingredients might be a bit intimidating. Heat a large soup pot (6 qt or so) on medium heat. Add the oil, toss in the onion and celery and sweat for about 3 or 4 minutes. Add the corn and continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Stir things around a bit and make sure the hear releases all of the wonderful flavors. Now add the sun dried tomatoes, the roasted red bells, and the garlic. Toss all this around a bit and continue to cook. Try not to caramelize things too much, but a little won't hurt. Stir in the Ancho chili powder and the oregano (if dried), deglaze with the sherry if you want, then add the chicken stock, the lime juice, and the water. Bring to a boil and let simmer at a medium heat for about 20 or 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it so that it doesn't reduce to much. If it does, add a bit more water. When you think the soup is at the right consistency (and this is definitely the cook's call) you can add the rest of the seasonings, and salt and pepper to taste. This soup should not be watery or brothy, nor should it be really thick either (unless that is how you want it). Just a nice soupy consistency. I served it with a garnish of micro-cilantro (baby cilantro will work as well) and some fried corn tortilla strips (sliced very thin).

Please leave a comment with any questions, or to let me know how you like the soup and recipe. I hope you enjoy.