Roasted Corn Soup

I’ve never been big on soup, but for some reason I keep coming back to these chilled, summer-y soups. Adapted from: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fresh-Corn-Soup-Topped-with-Roasted-Corn-Guacamole-352975

Ingredients:

6 ears of corn

2 small (4 inch) cucumbers

1 yellow bell pepper

2 jalapenos

½ white onion

3 cloves of garlic

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon ancho chili powder

Garnish:

Avocado

Tomato

Shallot

Cilantro

Jalapeno

Croutons
Black Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Use a knife to remove the kernels from the cobs. I find it’s easiest to place a small bowl upside down inside a very large bowl, and place the corn on top of the small bowl. This way you can cut downward on the corncobs, and the kernels all fall into the bigger bowl.  Reserve the cobs. Pour some olive oil on the kernels, and season with salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and roast for 20 minutes. 

While that’s going on, take 3 of the reserved cobs, place in a pot, and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and let it go for about 20 minutes.

Seed and chop the bell pepper as well as the jalapenos, and roughly chop the onion, garlic, and cucumbers. When the corn is finished, reserve about 1/2 cup of kernels for garnishing, and place the rest in a blender along with the other veggies. Blend until pureed.

Take the corn broth, and pass it through a strainer. Add one cup of the broth to a pot along with the chicken stock and pureed corn mixture. Stir, and season with ancho chili powder and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let reduce for 20 minutes to half an hour, until you have a somewhat thick consistency that you’re happy with. Pass through a strainer into a bowl, and chill until ready to serve.