Pureed Corn Soup with Herb Pesto

Sweet corn season is almost over but you might be able to still find some at your local farmers market if you are lucky!  My soup fetish is due to my husband recently getting braces and not being able to eat solid food!  I dislike all commercially made soups as they are typically high in sodium so I went on a mission to find recipes that were easy to make and would freeze well.  This recipe has been adapted from one a friend gave me this spring and you have to serve it with the pesto for the full flavor.   

Ingredients for Soup: 

  • 6 ears fresh corn
  • 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
  • 1/2 cup diced shallot
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 yellow bell peppers
  • 6 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 tsp white pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 bay leaves

Method for Soup:

  • Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
  • Place the whole peppers on a sheet pan and place in the oven for 20 minutes or until the skins are completely wrinkled and charred, turning them twice during the roasting.
  • Once the skins are charred and wrinkled remove from the oven to cool.
  • Remove the skin, stem and seeds.  Chop into pieces and set aside. 
  • Cut the corn off of the cobs.  Save three of the cobs and cut them in half.
  • In a large pot, heat the oil on medium high heat until hot.  
  • Add the onions and shallots to the pan and sauté until golden brown.
  • Add the corn kernals, salt, pepper and bay leaves and continue sautéing for 1 minute. 
  • Add the reserved corn cobs, bay leaves and stock to the pot.  
  •  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat, remove the corn cobs and bay leaves.
  • Add the roasted pepper and then in small batches blend in a high powered blender.  
  • Be careful when blending as hot liquids create steam that will cause the top of the blender to fly off.  Use a towel to hold down the top and blend the soup in small batches. 

Ingredients for Pesto:

  • 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1 cup fresh parsley leaves
  • 1 cup fresh marjoram leaves
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • salt and pepper to taste

Method for Pesto:

  • Add all ingredients to high speed blender and puree until smooth.
  • Drizzle 1-2 tsp over each bowl of soup when serving.  
  • Can be made up to 2 days in advance and even frozen for later use.