Creamy Corn Soup

Something creamy seemed like a great idea for our next soup.  As the weather gets chillier here in Boston, I'll likely be making even more soup than I have been lately.  My mom and I both recently purchased Pati Jinich's Pati's Mexican Table and have been eager to try out her recipes.  This is not a winter soup, but a perfect one for autumn - full of corn and a taste of summer, but also creamy, spicy, and with a hint of vanilla to warm up the chill of fall.  Never mind that it's still in the high 70s in Las Cruces during the day - the temperature always drops significantly at night in the desert!

Creamy Corn Soup, from Pati's Mexican Table

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2/3 cup chopped white onion

2/3 cup thinly sliced leeks (white and light green parts only)

4 cups fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels

5 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 canned chipotle in adobo, seeded if desired, plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce

1/2 vanilla bean, sliced open

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

slices of toasted crunchy bread (or, as my mom suggests, corn tortillas)

1.  Heat the oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat until the butter starts to foam.  Add the onion and leeks and cook for 5-6 minutes, until softened.  Add the corn and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it softens and deepens in color.

2.  Add the broth, chipotle, and adobo sauce, and bring to a gently simmer.  Cook for 5-6 minutes.

3.  Puree the soup until smooth (or puree only half, if you like more body as we do). 

4.  Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and add them to the soup, along with the bean.  Gently heat the soup over low heat until hot, then add the milk.  Season with salt and pepper, stir, and allow the soup to steep over low heat for 8-10 minutes.  Remove the vanilla bean and serve.


CASSIE'S VERSION

This was simple and very comforting.  It was also consumed long ago, from both fridge and freezer, and I forgot to write anything down after making it.  I do remember that I increased the amount of adobo sauce (probably too much - my hand is often a little heavy when it comes to chile), and I also used my fancy Tahitian vanilla salt in addition to the vanilla bean.  This salt, a gift from my mom, has a very unusual sweet flavor and I am often unsure of how and when to use it.  I recently discovered it is great atop chocolate chip cookies, and it was also perfect in this soup.  Do not skip the vanilla, either in bean, salt, or extract form; it is a subtle addition that makes this otherwise simple soup a little different.  Aside from the vanilla, this is a fairly straightforward corn soup - but the proportions are just right, and sometimes straightforward with a little twist is just right for a satisfying lunch or dinner!

ANN'S VERSION

My mom also forgot to document her soup.  But she loved it!