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Grilled Corn Soup

Grilled Corn Soup is a celebration of textures, flavours, colours and, above all, the bounty of this glorious season, highlighted by subtle southwest seasonings. If you're a corn lover, you'll be glad you made this soup.

Servings 4 to 6 servings
Author © Marlene Cornelis/UrbanCottageLife.com 2014–2020

Ingredients

  • 4 cobs fresh corn
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 large onion cut lengthwise, then thinly sliced
  • 2 large cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 large field tomatoes cubed (but not peeled)
  • 5 - 7 small new potatoes halved and sliced 1/4" thick (skins on)
  • 900 ml vegetable stock low sodium if possible
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • generous grinding of fresh pepper I estimate I used at least 1/2 tsp
  • pinch salt, or to taste
  • juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 to 1-1/2 tbsp)
  • handful fresh basil leaves chiffonaded (roll lthe leaves together, then slice them thinly)

How To Make This Recipe

  1. While the barbecue or grill is heating up, shuck and trim four cobs of corn and rub them with a little bit of olive oil. Grill the corn, turning every few minutes, until there's a nice degree of caramelization. Many of the kernels will still be yellow, but that's okay. Set the grilled cobs aside to cool while you work on other elements of the soup.
  2. Heat the rest of the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, then add the sliced onion and minced garlic. Cook for a few minutes until they soften but don't let them brown.
  3. Add the paprika and ground cumin, stirring well, and let the spices mellow out with the onions and garlic for a few minutes. Then stir in the tomatoes and potatoes and add the stock. It's time to toss in the oregano and a good grinding of pepper. Cover and bring to a boil. Then turn the heat to the lowest setting and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are almost tender enough to eat.

  4. While the soup is simmering, cut the corn kernels from the cobs. To do this, set a small bowl upside down in a wide, shallow dish. Holding the cob with the stem end on the small dish, and using a good chef's knife, slice off the kernels. This method prevents escapee kernels all over your counter. (Or use my new favourite method: lay the cob on a cutting board, steady it, then carefully slice off a few rows of kernels. Roll and continue slicing until all the kernels are off.) Once the kernels are removed, scrape the cobs with the back of your chef's knife to extract all the delicious corn juices. Waste not!

  5. When the potatoes are almost tender, taste and adjust the soup for seasoning. Then add the corn kernels and simmer the soup for another 20 minutes.

  6. Just before serving, add the lime juice to the soup pot and the basil, reserving some for garnish.

Recipe Notes

No barbecue? Or no fresh corn? You can still "pan grill" the corn, using a skillet (preferably cast iron). Just rub the cobs with a bit of oil as per the directions here. And if it's the middle of winter when you get a craving for this soup, put a small amount of oil in the pan and "grill" some frozen corn. We gotta do what we gotta do!