Soup is Good Food: Gazpacho Challenge 2005 (Part III): Chilled Corn Soup

First off, does this really qualify as gazpacho? Probably not, but let’s all just agree to erroneously use the word “gazpacho” to identify any kind of cold soup, shall we? You know, since I have a theme going and all.

Secondly, now that the weather is uh, cold again here in Portland, what better time to post about the Chilled Corn Soup I made over last weekend? Exactly!

Chilled Corn Soup w/ Adobo

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup chopped sweet onion (I used Walla Walla)
3 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from about 3 ears of corn)
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided

1 teaspoon adobo sauce from canned chipotle chiles
Fresh cilantro leaves

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until soft, about 4 minutes. Add corn kernels, broth, and 1 tablespoon lime juice; bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until corn is just tender, about 3 minutes. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until almost smooth.
While blending, I added about a tablespoon of the cilantro to the mix.

Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice. If needed, thin soup with some water — I didn’t need to. Season corn soup to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer soup to large bowl; cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours or overnight. Or, as I did, pop in the freezer for about an hour.

Meanwhile, whisk remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and adobo sauce in small bowl to blend. Divide chilled corn soup among 4 bowls. Drizzle soup with adobo oil, then garnish with cilantro and serve.

This was very good and extremely easy to make. I used fresh corn, but frozen would probably work fine too. In the fall and winter, I would think you could just serve this hot and it would be pretty tasty as well.

***
Crockery Corner:

Should I start talking about the dishes that the food I photograph is in? Sure, why not! The above picture of the soup is in a cup by Mamma Ro, that is part of a cup and saucer set. I only have two cups and saucers (they are pricey), but I love them. I got these in Port Townsend, WA a couple of years ago, but there is a store in Portland that I have been meaning to go to — actually, there are a number of stores.

Here’s one more arty shot of the soup, in a different bowl (which you can’t really see in the shot), taken by jwa: