The other night, we'd had a large seafood boil with snow crab legs, shrimp, kielbasa, corn, and potatoes. We finished off most of the meat but still had plenty of corn and potatoes left over, so I figured I'd try my hand at turning them into a soup.
All told, I thought it turned out fairly well. I probably could have used just a bit more corn and potatoes in it for personal preference, and so this recipe reflects that. The other measurements are more-or-less accurate, as I didn't measure anything in the process of making it, so there is likely the opportunity to refine it.
We served this with some simple broiled tilapia filets—it seemed a natural fit since the corn and potatoes were originally cooked in a pot with Zatarain's crab boil spices and the seafood. If the corn and potatoes are cooked in something more neutral, it could certainly go with a wider range of entrées.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp butter (unsalted)
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp sambuca
- 1½ tbsp flour
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 4 ears of corn, cooked
- 1 sprig rosemary (about 3 inches)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup whole milk
- 4 cups cooked red potatoes, in ½-inch cubes
Instructions
- Strip the kernels from the cooked ears of corn, reserving the cob from one ear.
- In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Sweat the onions until soft and translucent, but not browning, about 7-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add sambuca and continue cooking until all liquid is evaporated, about 1 minute. Add flour, stir well, and cook for another minute.
- Add chicken stock, reserved corn cob and kernels from one ear of corn, rosemary sprig, bay leaf. Bring to simmer and cook for about 10-15 minutes.
- Remove corn cob, rosemary, and bay leaf from soup and blend until smooth with an immersion or tabletop blender. Return soup to sauce pan.
- Stir in milk, remaining corn kernels, and potatoes. Bring to simmer and cook until all ingedients are warmed through. Salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
If using uncooked corn and potatoes, make the following adjustments:
- In step 4, add all four ears worth of kernels and the potatoes into the pot during the initial simmer with the chicken stock, cook until both are ready. (Probably don't need to use any cobs this way).
- In step 5, strain the liquid into the bowl, discard the and blend the liquid with one quarter of the corn kernels. It's probably fine if a potato or two gets blended as well.
Frozen corn kernels could be an option as well. Toasting them in a separate skillet with some butter, salt, pepper, and herbs would enhance the flavor.