Recipe: Corn soup with bacon and rajas (poblanos)

We came across some nice corn the other day and thought it was a nice day for a soup.  As nice as it is on its own, we also thought it would be perfect to get some poblanos involved, and a bit of bacon to round it out.  One nice thing about corn soup is the fact that you have natural cornstarch in play, so if you want to lighten it up, you can substitute milk for some or all of the cream and it won't turn out watery.  It definitely makes a difference to use butter in the cooking to get that corn on the cob satisfaction in the flavour.  We also left a portion of the soup un-pureed as we like a few kernels floating around, but puree it all if you like.  Removing the skins from the poblanos is best done over the open flame of a gas stove, but oven roasting will also work - this is an extra step in refinement, and if you choose to keep the skins and pan roast, the flavour is the same as long as you get the colour.

For the soup you will need:

Pan roast the corn

4 - 5              fresh corn cobs

1                   small onion

3                   garlic

500ml / 2C   cream

500ml / 2C   milk

as needed     butter

to taste         salt

To garnish:

3 - 4             strips bacon 

For the rajas:

Add cream and puree

3                  poblano peppers

1                  small onion

as needed    fat from the bacon

to taste        salt

to taste        black pepper

Method:

 - dice the onion for the soup

 - chop the garlic

 - strip the kernels of corn from the cobs

 - in a pan on medium heat, sweat the onion, garlic and corn in the butter

 - gradually turn up the heat to slightly pan roast the corn

Saute poblanos in bacon fat

 - add the milk and cream and bring up to a simmer

 - transfer to a blender and puree smooth (keep some corn aside if you like the kernels)

 - strain through a mesh sieve back into the pan and bring back to a simmer

 - adjust the seasoning and it's ready to go - keep warm while making the garnish

For the rajas:

 - cut the bacon into lardons (short crosswise strips)

 - cook the lardons in a heavy pan (cast iron is best)

 - drain the fat and keep the bacon aside

 - char the poblanos and remove the skins (if you choose)

Get some colour

 - remove the seeds and veins from the poblanos and slice a thick julienne

 - julienne the onion

 - with the cast iron pan on medium heat, add back some bacon fat and saute the onion and poblanos

 - keep cooking until the poblanos soften and get a good dark green colour

 - season to taste with salt and pepper

 - use to top off the soup along with some of the cooked lardons