The weather has finally gotten cold in Georgia. I thought I was living in Santa Barbara, for a minute. The truth is, Georgia’s weather could be a little tricky. Cold one day and 78 degrees the next. But, as soon as it got cold. I was in my kitchen making this soup. Now this is a vegan version of the soup. I wanted something much cleaner, than all the heavy cream and butter I consumed over the holidays. The food was amazing and I love to eat good food and boy did I have my share. Okay, enough of my time of confession. Let’s get to the soup.

I used a roux, which is a cooked mixture of butter or other fat and flour to help thicken sauces, soups, etc.  I used olive oil and flour for this soup. Cooking the flour, gives it a nice buttery and nutty flavor, so no need for the butter, and the flour thickens it as well.

I hope my vegan version, gets you to start thinking, especially in the New Year, you can set the butter and heavy cream a side, ever now and then.

 

Ingredients:

Roux 

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 1/2 tablespoons of flour, coconut flour

Corn Soup

2-3 tablespoon Olive oil

1/2 large white onion, chopped (~1 cup)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

2 cups organic frozen corn

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon  garlic powder

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

2 cups low sodium vegetable broth , low sodium

Garnish

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup frozen organic corn

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced

Cilantro

Sea salt and black pepper , to taste

Directions:

In a medium saucepan over medium heat add the olive oil for the roux. Add a pinch of flour sprinkled into the oil, when it just begin to bubble. Then, whisk in 2-1/2 tablespoons of flour to form a thick paste.  Continue whisking as the roux gently bubbles and cooks, for 2 minutes. Do not let the roux bubbles vigorously or it will burn. Stir constantly. Add the onions and garlic, stir and cook for another 2 minutes. Lower the heat just a bit. Add the red pepper flakes, stir. Next, Add the corn and all the spices, salt and pepper, to taste.  Stir and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Add the vegetable broth and allow to cook for another 10 minutes on a medium heat, continue to stir as needed. Add more vegetable broth if needed. Do not allow it to dry out.

While the corn is cooking, add your oil for your garnish, in another sauce pan on medium heat, once the pan is heated, add the peppers and the corn. Allow the corn and peppers to cook, until they have caramelized on some of the pieces. Remove from the heat and set a side.

Once the corn is cooked for the soup, remove it from the heat and add the mixture in a blender, Ninja or Vitamix. A very strong blender will give you a very creamy soup. Add the mixture to the blender and process, until the soup is creamy and smooth. If the mixture is too thick , add more vegetable broth. The soup should be smooth,creamy, but not thick.  If it is too thin, add more corn and blend.

Once the corn mixture is smooth, give it a taste and adjust the seasonings, add sea salt and black pepper at this time, if needed.

Remove the soup from the blender. Add it to a mesh stainer over a clean sauce pan. Strain the soup into the saucepan, use a spoon to press out all the liquid from the soup.  Once all the soup is strained away from any remaining kernel. Place the sauce pan over medium heat. Stir and heat the soup up to your preference. Add the heated soup to a bowl. Add the garnish on top and Enjoy.

You can always skip the straining process, if you like a more rustic soup.