Unlike years past where we've cooked steaks, ribs and lobsters for our 4th of July feast, this year we planned to keep things a little simpler (but no less delicious), by grilling up some burgers and dogs, and steaming up some fresh ears of corn for our crowd.
Except, in the bustle and excitement of our 4th of July celebrations (also my sister's birthday!), I totally forgot about the corn and it sat chilling in bags in our basement while the party raged on above.
Given that our crowd dispersed pretty quickly yesterday morning, well before I realized my mistake, I was left to figure out a plan B for the lovelies before they sat ignored in the dark any longer. As my in-laws were coming for dinner last night, I set 6 ears aside to steam for corn on the cob, the rest I decided to use for making this quick and scrumptious soup.
Those of you who have been with us for a while might remember that we made a corn soup last Summer, but whereas that one was a more refined recipe (16 ingredients), this one was thrown together in about a half hour with just a few leftovers from the fridge. To be honest, it lacked the silky-smooth mouth feel and complexity of the our last effort, but it was awfully tasty, and just bursting with fresh, sweet corn flavor.
Give it a try this Summer when your local corn is at it's finest….you won't be disappointed.
Cheers – Steve
Ingredients
- 6 ears of fresh corn, kernels cut from the cob and each cob snapped in half
- 1 Vidalia (or other sweet) onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
- 2 2/3 cup whole milk
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon finely minced lemon thyme, or regular thyme
- kosher salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place a large stock pot over medium heat and add a slick of EVOO to coat the bottom of the pan. Toss in the diced onion and stir and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes.
- Toss in the corn cob pieces, the corn kernels, the minced thyme, the milk and the stock. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the heat, and pull the pieces of cob from the pot. Working in batches, run the soup through your blender set to as high a setting as it has, and work it for at least 45 seconds to a minute per batch to fully pulverise the kernels. If you have a powerful blender (like a Vitamix), it should be able to process the soup to a nice smooth consistency, if not, you may want to strain the soup through a fine-meshed sieve if you want your soup perfectly smooth. The choice is yours.
- Pour the pureed soup into a medium sized saucepan. While the soup is still hot, whisk in the butter one tablespoon at a time. Check for seasoning and spoon into warmed bowls. Top with some basil oil if you choose for a little extra something.