Mexican Vegetable Soup with Fresh Corn & Fire Roasted Tomato Broth
In January I told myself I would post a new recipe once a week for this coming year, and I was really motivated! But sometimes I don’t have a good recipe for you guys, or something that I’m working on just doesn’t seem to come together. I never force it. So sometimes a week goes by and I don’t post a recipe. I would rather have that happen than to put something out there that isn’t great.
The past two weeks or so I’ve been pretty busy too. My dad came to visit from Connecticut, and I had to spend a few days in court being questioned as a potential juror for a (pretty big) case. We’ve been snowboarding a bit, and camping when we’re not. I just haven’t had a lot of time to play in the kitchen. I’m ok with that. One of the best things about working for myself on this platform is that I don’t have to answer to anyone and I can work when I want to.
This recipe is a really good one, and one I have tinkered with a bit. It is a spin on a tortilla soup but it doesn’t have any meat. Don’t be upset. It is still just as flavorful. There’s a broth made with fire roasted tomatoes and jalapenos, and lots of fresh corn (don’t use frozen, pleeease). There’s a handful of fresh cilantro and green onions added at the end, and avocado to top it off. You could add chicken if you wanted to, but I don’t think you’ll miss it if you don’t. This makes a nice big pot, perfect for sharing with a few people or having some nice leftovers!
Have fun!
- 6 medium tomatoes, about 1- 1.25 lbs
- 2 small jalapenos, or 1 large jalapeno
- 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped fine
- 4 ears fresh corn, kernels removed and cobs reserved to milk (see note)
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1-2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 2 quarts good stock, chicken or vegetable ( I always use Trader Joe's)
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 small zucchinis chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (about 2 cups chopped)
- 1 cup chopped green onions
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- lime wedges and avocado to serve
- Preheat broiler and line a baking sheet with foil.
- Slice tomatoes in half and place on baking sheet cut side up, along with jalapenos. Broil for 15 minutes or until nice and black on top (see picture). Every broiler is different so keep an eye on it. Turn jalapenos over halfway through to get both sides.
- Meanwhile, In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook 1 minute or so stirring occasionally. Add corn kernels and garlic, and continue to cook stirring occasionally until onions are translucent. Add spices and stir together for 1-2 minutes to let spices toast a little.
- Add stock, drained corn milk (pressed through a sieve) and black beans and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce and let simmer.
- Tomatoes and jalapenos should be done by now. Add the tomatoes to a blender, and remove seeds/stems from the jalapenos (unless you want it a lot spicier) and add those to the blender as well. Blend on high until pretty smooth and then strain over soup to keep any tomato skins or big pieces from getting in. Let simmer 10 minutes or so.
- Add zucchini and remove from heat. Let sit for 4 minutes with the top on, then add 1/2 of the green onions and 1/2 of the cilantro (reserve the rest to garnish) and stir together.
- Season with salt if necessary and then ladle out into bowls and top with avocado, fresh cilantro/green onions and lime wedges.
- To milk corn cobs, hold the cob over a bowl and use a butter knife and rub it along the cob to release the liquid that is left from where the kernels were cut off. See picture above.
