Creamy Corn and Chipotle Soup with Chimichurri Sauce

This is what corn looks like after it sits in your hanging produce basket while you lay prone on the couch for a week.

First off, I want to apologize for the sudden week of silence.  I managed to seriously screw up my back at work and have since been totally out of commission. I’m finally feeling good again though and thrilled to be back in the kitchen! This recipe is a version of one I made at a fine-dining restaurant I used to work at, and it was always, hands-down the most popular menu item. Guests would start requesting it the second Spring started to wrap up, and when we did end a service with some left in the walk-in (which wasn’t often) the servers were sure to finish it off that night.  As a result, I spent a good part of every day shucking and cleaning corn. Fortunately for this dish however, the corn doesn’t have to be clean of all hair as the soup is strained through a chinoise before plating. The flavor and texture of the end result is so addictively good though, it would honestly be worth hours of hair picking!

Makes: 4-6 servings
Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1 large onion
4 garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon of olive oil, grapeseed oil, or basically whatever kind of fat you most prefer
8 large corn on the cob
2 cups heavy cream
3 cups whole milk
3 dried chipotle peppers
10 or so peppercorns
3 cloves
2 bay leaves
salt to taste
lime juice to taste

chimichurri sauce for garnish
chile oil for garnish

Method:

First, shuck your corn and cut the kernels from the cob.

Next dice your onion into ½ inch pieces, and slice your garlic cloves. Saute these in the olive oil until they take on a golden color.

Next add the corn, cream and milk.

Tie the chipotle peppers, peppercorns, cloves, and bay leaves in a square of cheesecloth, or place them in a tea ball, then add them to the pot.

Lower your heat and be sure to stir frequently as the cream and milk both love to scald. Also keep an eye out for boiling over, as once the dairy begins to simmer it will foam up and begin to rise unbelievably quickly.

After about 30 minutes of simmering, the corn should be nice and soft, and ready to be pureed. You can use either an immersion blender or stand mixer, but either way be sure to pull out the aromatics first.

Once blended, pour/push the soup through a fine-meshed strainer and toss out the chunky residue that is left behind.  Taste the resulting sweet, white silkiness and season with salt and lime juice accordingly to your preferences. Garnish with some chimichurri sauce and perhaps a spoonful of chili oil if you like heat, and devour! (Feel free to lick the bowl, no will blame you.)