Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Just Corn Soup – Finally, Less is More!

This is one of my all-time favorite ways to enjoy fresh, summer corn, and a great lesson in just how little help these sweet ears need. If you’re using perfect, peak season ears, a little butter, salt and pepper is really all you need. And no, water never counts.

In case you’re wondering why we blended half the corn at the beginning, even though we were going to blend it at the end anyway, I have a great reason for that. The first time I made this soup, it came out so perfectly delicious that I’m now afraid to change the steps.

I blended the corn, and started cooking; not knowing it would look so terrible and broken. It tasted amazing, but looked like a horrible mistake, so I ended up giving it a little blitz with the stick blender. That did the trick, and I had something that looked as gorgeous as it tasted.

Would it taste the same if you simmered the corn in the water, and then blended it all at the end? I’m not sure, but my instincts say no. By the way, if you don’t have a stick blender, you’ll have to carefully puree about half the soup in a blender (in batches if necessary), and then add it back in. I really hope you give this amazing corn soup a try soon. Enjoy!


Makes 4 small portions:
3 cups packed fresh sweet white corn kernels (about 3-4 ears)
3 cups cold water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
generously season with salt
cayenne to taste

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks soooooooo good.

Frank said...

Happy Birthday

Anonymous said...

Chef, try some butter salt and sriracha on your corn on the cob. Your lips will burn and you'll like it.

David's Turnings said...

Beautiful recipe, as always. Question, though: did you consider making a quick stock with the cobs, and using that instead of plain water? I can't imagine it would make things too corny.

Unknown said...

What did you do with corn cobs? Would you not be able to use the cobs to flavour the water you pureed the kernels with?

Unknown said...

When my SO makes this, she puts in very small croutons on top. They're small enough that they don't overpower the taste of the corn, but enough to give it a textural crunch. Very delicious.

Unknown said...

If I don't have a stick blender, could I just pour the pot into a blender with the butter? looking forward to making this!

Scott Johnston said...

I think you meant fresh picked corn, instead of fresh packed corn.

Matt said...

I have far too many and too much herbs growing in my garden: basil, Thai basil, Greek oregano, cilantro, mint, and the Simon and Garfunkel herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme). I'll put any of these into any recipe. Do you think any of them would go well with this corn soup?

rodentraiser said...

Happy (late) Birthday!

Chef John, you certainly are having fun with the 'enjooooy' part of your videos lately, aren't you? You were singing that word this time. ♪ ♫

This recipe looks great and I can't wait to try it. Many thanks for the recipe!

arwiv said...

As a guy who has, too many times to count, over-seasoned, over-spiced, and generally over-added over the years....I think less is more is generally the right way to go. Every tv chef you ever hear says this constantly so maybe they are actually on to something.

Unknown said...

Hello Chef

I'm not sure how well this will be received but I have a foodwish. I'm defenitely a meat eater but I'm looking to branch out. This may sound too extreme but I propose a bit of a challenge to you. Do you think that you could create a vegan dish that stands on its own merit and not trying to imitate a meat dish. I'd like to diversify my menus and have been looking at vegan recipes for some inspiration. I was hoping you would be willing to help with the inspiration part. Ohhh thank you by the way for the Tartiflette recipe, I had it made for me in Montreal and seeing you do it helps validity the dish when I talk about it.

ThatBrunette said...

Have you traveled to Japan? Some of the vending machines sell Hot Corn Soup. It is fabulous. I am hoping this recipe will tide us over until our next trip to Tokyo.

Rjr1969 said...

John, I just made the soup and loved it. Question if I make another batch put it plastic bag vacuum seal it, freeze it. Will it taste as good on a cold rainy November night?

Rjr1969 said...

Does it freeze well?

Mike said...

I would like to see a show that explains temperature.
Low, medium low, medium,..., high. These are relative and "high" on each of my burners.
So, an idea of actual temperature and clues would be a great help to me. (E.G.The behavior of a drop of water on high is...)
Thank you.

Unknown said...

Chef, You are not kidding. This simple soup is incredibly delicious. I'm enjoying your videos. Thank you so much for no-nonsense short videos (with funny comments) with lots of great simple recipes. I really appreciate it!!

Jihadbaby said...

Hi Chef John, thanks for all the great work you are basically THE ONLY recipe blog I follow.

Just FYI, the ingredients list does not include the ginger. Might want to correct that.

SS4Kokoro said...

I bought an immersion blender because of recipes like this, Chef John. I have advertised you to all of my friends and family - including my fiancé (who is currently in the Philippines) and her family - and they said that most of your recipes (while they don't have most of the ingredients because they would have to be imported or are too expensive to purchase otherwise) looked interesting and tasty (or as they say in Tagalog - one of the main dialects of the Philippines - masarap) in their eyes. :D

Panupat Chong said...

So... why unsalted butter when you're salting it generously at the end anyway?

Jessica said...

Hi,
I'm a school teacher & reading a primary school in Florida. Last few minutes reading your blog post and understand that I have to need a blender to save my time to cook and making juice for my kids. So I think I buy a vitamix blender for blend fruits juice. I was searching post about best vitamix blender but I didn't find in your blog. My request to you please mention me a post about the best and cheap vitamix blender. I hope you will do it for me.
Waiting for your reply.
Thanks
Jessica