Roasted Corn Soup

Grilled and roasted corn shows up on my plate more often these days. Warm, buttery, salty, and tender corn is a staple of summer.

And it’s wonderful when turned into a soup.

After the sun goes down, this soup was everything I didn’t know I wanted. I’m not resigning myself to only gazpacho for the next few months because of the heat. I want this hot corn soup, flavorful and a touch spicy from the poblano. It made me feel good, the way soup always does.

roasted corn soup

4 ears corn in husk
1 white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 poblano chiles, chopped, seeds and stems discarded
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups chicken stock (or broth)
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 350ºF. Place corn on a baking sheet and roast in oven for 30 minutes, until corn is tender. Let cool.

Cook the onion, garlic, and chiles in oil in a large (3-quart) saucepan over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the onion softens. Stir frequently.

Pull off the husks and pick off the silk from each ear of corn. Hold the ear of corn upright and cut the kernels off the ears of corn with a sharp knife, working your way from top to bottom. Do this while holding the ear of corn in a bowl to keep kernels from darting across the counter.

Stir corn into pan with onions and chiles. Add stock and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in the cream and bring everything back up to a simmer one more time. Season soup with salt and pepper. Garnish with something green and serve with crusty, buttered bread.

Serves 4 as a meal or 6 as a first course. Adapted from “Kitchen Simple” by James Peterson.