Mexican Street Corn Soup
A decadent end-of-summer soup that features the season's freshest corn, Mexican Street Corn Soup is the famous street food in soup form.
Servings 4
Calories 325kcal
Ingredients
- 5 ears sweet corn , shucked, silks removed
- olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter or ghee
- 1/2 onion , diced
- 2 ribs celery , diced
- 1 small poblano pepper , diced
- 3/4 pound Yukon Gold potatoes , scrubbed, peeled, and diced
- 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 cup half n half or heavy cream
- kosher salt
- 1 block of cotija or queso fresco cheese
- 1/4 cup Mexican crema (or sour cream)
- 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon ancho or guajillo chili powder
- 1 tablespoon minced cilantro , for garnish
- 1 green onion , sliced or chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your grill to high. Brush four of the ears of corn with olive oil. Grill the ears of corn, turning occasionally for 8 to 10 minutes, until all sides have a light char on the kernels. Optional: add your favorite wood chips to the grill as the corn cooks. The smoky flavors will enhance the corn very nicely.
- Remove the corn from the grill and cool. When the ears can be handled, cut the kernels from all of the ears (including the 5th, uncooked ear).
- Using the edge of a knife, scrape down the ears of corn to remove the creamy corn. Add to the corn kernels. Slice one of the cobs into three pieces and set aside.
- Heat the butter in a 4 quart Dutch oven or stock pot over medium until melted.
- Add the onions, celery, and poblano and saute until soft (about 5 minutes). Add the potatoes, stock, and sliced corn cob. Raise the heat to high to bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the potatoes can be easily pierced with a knife (about 15 minutes). Remove and discard the cobs.
- If a thick soup is desired, mash the potatoes in the pot with a potato masher until broken down (they won't necessarily be smooth at this point). Reduce heat to medium/low.
- Stir in the corn and dairy, plus a couple pinches of salt. Cook for five minutes.
- Observe the texture of the soup. If you want something smoother and thicker, use a stick blender in pulses to smooth out part of the soup. For a completely smooth soup, blend the soup in batches in a high-speed blender.
- Add about 1/4 cup of cotija cheese crumbles, plus the crema to the soup, stirring well. Taste, and add more cheese as needed. It's salty, so it's unlikely you'll need to add more salt at this point.
- Squeeze half of a lime over the soup, and taste. Use the remaining half, if a brighter flavor is desired.
- To serve, sprinkle chili powder over the soup, along with the cilantro and green onions.
Nutrition
Calories: 325kcal