Chilled corn soup

chilled corn soup with shrimp salad, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

with shrimp salad
Cold soups are interesting. I always think of soups as a warming dish on a cold day but this summer the opposite works too. Last week I made gazpacho from my garden harvest....excellent burst of flavors.
I found this recipe in the Bon Appetit magazine August and thought I'd try it. The recipe called for lobster but I couldn't find it in Denver..certainly not live so I substituted Key West wild shrimp.
Although the soup looks really creamy it is dairy free. All of the flavors are extremely subtle and for a guest to try to detect the ingredients is a mystery to the senses. Try this with your summer corn. It is worth it:

Chilled corn soup with shrimp salad:
corn soup:
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
6 cups of corn kernels (6 ears)
2 sprigs thyme
salt, pepper

Shrimp Salad:
2 cups gently cooked shrimp, cut bite size
1/2 small shallot, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp good olive oil plus more for drizzling
fresh ground pepper
3 Tbsp celery LEAVES, coarsely chopped plus more for garnish
1 Tbsp fresh tarragon, coarsely chopped plus more for garnish
Sea salt

Saute onions and garlic in butter and oil until soft, about 5 minutes
Add corn and season with salt and pepper, cook until soft and almost brown, about 8 minutes
Add thyme sprigs and 5 cups of water, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until corn is very soft (6-8 mins).
Discard thyme sprigs
Transfer to blender and work in batches until all pureed
Force through sieve or strainer, separating the solids.
Chill liquid for 2 hours

Salad:

Whisk shallot, lemon juice and mustard in a bowl,
Whisk in olive oil
Season with salt and pepper
Add shrimp, celery leaves and tarragon
Chill for 2 hours

Assemble:
Pour soup into bowls
Add salad to soup
Sprinkle with celery leaves and tarragon
Drizzle with olive oil
Season with salt and pepper

Bon Appetit Froid!

Corn and chowder with shrimp

corn chowder, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Try this great chowder on a cold afternoon or night. We had it for Christmas Eve dinner with a chicken salad (actually no shrimp the first time). Yesterday I made it again because it was so good last week:
Ingredients:
Bacon...4 slices
onion ---1 chopped
leeks....3 chopped
celery...3 ribs chopped
carrots...2 large, sliced
potatoes...1 cup chopped
corn...3 ears fresh or 2 cans/ 1-2 cups frozen
chicken broth...3-4 cups
1/2 & 1/2...1-2 cups
shrimp..1 lb precooked, or lobster or nothing

method:
In a large soup pot cook diced bacon until fat is rendered. Add leeks, onions and celery and saute for about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of chicken broth, carrots & potatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes or until potatoes or a little soft
Add the fresh corn and continue cooking 2 minutes. Add more chicken broth if needed.
Add precooked shrimp and half and half and cook only until all ingredients are the same temperature. Of course you don't want to overcook the shrimp.
Season to taste and serve.

This is good without the shrimp....may be even more fabulous with lobster!
Bon Appetit!