All the tales of woe and misery emanating from the East Coast must have had an effect on me, because I was cold all day yesterday. So I decided it was time for some soup. Corn chowder, to be specific.
This one is embarrassingly easy, and delicious.
| 2 cans sweet corn, divided use | one large onion, chopped | 2 ribs celery, chopped |
| 2 cloves garlic, chopped | 2 bay leaves | 1/4 tsp coriander seed, lightly crushed |
| one quart good-quality vegetable stock | one can coconut milk | 2-3 large potatoes, chunked |
| one pinch chile flakes | salt and pepper to taste |
In a large, heavy pot, heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, the bay leaves, coriander seed and chile flakes until fragrant. Dump in the onions and celery (and salt-n-pepper) and sweat for several minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sweat for about 10 minutes total. Add the potatoes and one can (undrained) of corn. Stir, and add the vegetable stock. Bring just to a boil, turn down to simmer and cover for about 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are barely tender. Add the can of coconut milk and simmer for a minute or two. Remove the bay leaves. Blend about half of the soup to very smooth. Return the blended part to the pot and stir to incorporate. Add the second can of corn (drained). Bring back to temperature, correct seasonings, and serve.
The blended corn turns the soup a lovely, pale golden color. Garnish with a little chopped cilantro or crispy fried onions, and maybe a few drops of your favorite hot sauce. Just the thing to warm you up on a chilly day.
Sounds good. We'll try that oncet back in your hemisphere.
Looks good, bS. I made some soup last night which I claim to be even easier! It was out of Ruhlman's Twenty*. 1# chopped red peppers (2 inch pieces) with 1 cup heavy whipping cream. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. Add some salt, puree for ~2 min, strain, add a squeeze of lemon juice. (I've taken to squeezing lemon juice into ice cube trays so I always have some lemon juice on hand.) Serve in cups to sip. Mmmmm.
*Ruhlman's Twenty might be my favorite cookbook ever. I am always looking for the cookbook that I wish had been my first cookbook, and I think this might be the one.
I made the above soup while I was waiting for the beets (for Borscht, from an America's Test Kitchen cookbook) to finish cooking. We'll see how that experiment turns out tonight.