Oh Sweet, Corn!

When I was growing up, I used to spend my Summer’s in Massachusetts with my dad and because my dad wasn’t one to have his son sitting around the house all day reading books (which was okay for him, but hell, he’d been putting up with snotty college students unable to conjugate their verbs for the previous nine months), it fell on me to get a job. Now, to say I was a lazy little kid might be going a bit too far; but I was definitely a fat little kid. I liked my books, I liked my Devil Dogs, I liked my Tastykakes, I liked hot dogs with ketchup on them and ice cream sundaes from Friendly’s piled high with Reece’s Peanutbutter Cups, hot fudge, peanut butter and whipped cream…yeah, I was a fatty! Anyway, I wasn’t really into things like running around outside, or the joys of salad, and I definitely wasn’t psyched when my dad told me I’d be spending my almost my Summer selling corn by a roadside.
I brought home so much corn that Summer, by dad and step-mom were sick of it by early August and asked my neighbors (my bosses) nicely please stop sending me home with as many ears of corn as my fat little arms could carry…it didn’t work. Looking back, I’m glad they didn’t listen; because I now have an appreciation for what truly good corn is supposed to taste like. And every time I have a really good ear of corn, I remember those Summer’s in Hadley, Massachusetts selling ears of corn by the dozen. Good corn, really damn good corn, can be pulled off the stalk and eaten raw right there in the field; sweet and delicious, with sticky corn-milk running down your chin.
But I digress. A couple weeks ago, after the fun I had with the garlic scapes, I came across an article in the New York Times by Martha Rose Shulman about corn soup, or more pointedly, about fresh corn and finding inventive things to do with it when its in season. Her corn soup recipe was good, but not exactly what I was looking for. She suggested pureeing the corn along with the other ingredients and then adding a small amount of fresh corn to the finished product. My soup varies slightly with the addition of some roasted jalapeno for heat and a lot more corn, turning her soup into slightly more of a stew. But she did make a corn stock with the cobs, which I liked because it added extra corn flavour to the tasty soup. I had to employ a little System D (if you’re not sure, wait and I’ll fill you in) when making my soup because the Robot Coupe and VitaPrep from the restaurant had been spirited away by a good friend who needed it very much.

Incidentally, she owes me after I found the parts to the Robot Coupe in a Sky Vodka box, but that’s also a story for another day. And I’ve simplified this recipe guessing you’ve got a blender at home. So this soup recipe is basically Shulman’s with the addition of some fire-roasted jalapeno for spice and not as much corn pureed into the soup mix. And if I could just add, that when it was all said and done the verdict on the soup was, “you’re the man!” so, ya’know, maybe I know what I’m doing here.

Spicy Corn Soup

For the stock:
The cobs from 3 large ears corn
1 small onion, quartered
1/2 pound carrots, sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 quarts water
Salt to taste

For the soup:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 small or 1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste
Kernels from 2 ears corn
1 large jalapeno, fire roasted

For garnish:
Kernels from 2 ears of corn

Make the stock: Combine the corn cobs, quartered onion, carrots, garlic and water in a large soup pot, and bring to a boil. Season with a small amount of salt (you will be reducing this broth, so don’t salt fully at this point). Reduce the heat, cover and simmer one hour. Strain and return to the pot. Bring to a boil, and reduce to 5 cups. (There are 4 cups in a quart, so you’re basically looking to reduce your broth almost by half). Taste and adjust seasoning.
Fire-roast your jalapeno while the broth is reducing, so you can slice it and add it to your soup items.
Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot, and add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes, and add the corn kernels and jalapeno. Cook gently for about three minutes, stirring, and add the stock. Bring to a simmer, cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
Transfer to a blender in 1 to 1 1/2-cup batches, taking care to cover the top with a towel to avoid hot splashes, and blend the soup until smooth. Put through a medium strainer, pressing the soup through with the bottom of a ladle or with a spatula, and return to the pot and add the remaining raw kernels. Heat through, taste and adjust seasonings.
Ladle in stew, and serve.
Yield: Serves four, or about one quart.