We Dare You to Not Lick the Bowl After Eating This Chilled Sweet Corn Soup
Exactly what you want to eat on a sweltering summer day
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When corn is in season, there’s nothing like it—sweet and juicy, the pure, buttery taste of a summer well spent. If you happen to tire of corn straight off the cob, consider this silky chilled corn soup, which brings those flavors to the table, plus the bright, grassy twang of fresh chives and the fiery heat of chili oil. I like to use a little splash of oil from my favorite brand of chili crisp, but you can also make your own.
To amplify the sheer corniness of this soup, I like to use corn stock as the liquid. All summer, I save my corn cobs in the freezer, and when I hit maximum capacity, I throw them in a stock pot with some bay leaves, peppercorns, and maybe a few onion scraps, simmering the stock for a few hours to extract all the corn flavor possible. If you don’t have corn stock available, any vegetable stock or even water will work just fine.
More Related Recipes to Try Next:
Almond Cornbread with Grilled Stone Fruit
Roasted Confetti Corn
Summer Corn and Peach Pitas
Sweet Corn Soup with Chili Oil and Chives
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 ears sweet corn, shucked and kernels removed, cobs saved (2 cups)
- 2-3 cups corn stock
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped
- 1 - 2 teaspoons chili oil
Preparation
- Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and garlic and sweat until translucent and fragrant (about five minutes), lowering heat if necessary to avoid getting any color on the onions.
- Add corn and cook for another five minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add corn stock to just cover the corn. Bring to a low simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Pour soup into a blender and blend until smooth. Pass the soup through a strainer and add heavy cream if you so choose. Chill in the refrigerator or an ice bath until the soup is completely cool.
- To serve, garnish with chives and a drizzle of chili oil.