Mexican Sweetcorn Soup (Sopa de Maize)

Sweetcorn season is in full swing and this is the perfect soup to make when you have juicy, fresh sweetcorn cobs. You can make it all year round with frozen kernels but the addition of grilled corn kernels, fresh from the cob, gives the soup a gorgeous smoky flavour.

For more sweetcorn ideas, check out my post Sweetcorn in Season where you'll find out how to prepare sweetcorn for cooking and some more sweetcorn recipe ideas to make the most of the season.

Mexcian Sweetcorn Soup - Sopa de Maize

Dietary: Vegan

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 stick celery, chopped
• 1 Romano red pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 1 large red chilli, deseeded and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 400ml vegetable stock
• 250g sweetcorn kernels
• 1 corn on the cob
• olive oil to baste
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• lime juice

To Serve:

• chopped coriander
• lime wedges
• corn tortilla chips (recipe below)

Method:

• Heat the sunflower oil in a large saucepan and fry the chopped onion and celery until softened, and the onions are sweet and starting to caramelise.
• Add the pepper, chilli, garlic and bay leaf along with the ground cumin, coriander and paprika, and stir-fry for a few minutes.
• Add the vegetable stock and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the sweetcorn kernels and simmer for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more liquid if the soup is too thick.
• Meanwhile, preheat the grill, rub the corn on the cob with a little olive oil and grill until it is slightly blackened, turning to cook evenly. Allow to cool, then slice off the kernels.
• Remove the bay leaf and blend the soup until almost smooth, using a hand-blender or liquidiser - we use our Froothie Optimum 9200 Power Blender.
• Stir in the grilled corn from the cob and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Taste and season with salt, black pepper and lime juice.
• Ladle the soup into bowls and serve topped with chopped coriander, with lime wedges and corn tortilla chips on the side.

Corn Tortillas

Making your own tortillas is easy and satisfying - why not hold a Mexican evening and a-maize your friends?!

Makes: 6 small tortillas

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 125g masa harina yellow corn
• good pinch of salt
• 165ml warm water

Method

• Mix the masa harina and salt together in a large mixing bowl and add the warm water.
• Mix together with your hands, shape into a ball and let stand for a few minutes. Add more water if the dough is crumbly.
• Gently knead the dough and divide into 6 small balls. Roll out each ball into a circle 3mm thick between 2 sheets of baking parchment, or use a metal tortilla press (we find that placing the dough ball in a split open plastic sandwich bag stops the dough sticking to the tortilla press).
• Heat a dry frying pan. Place a tortilla into the hot pan. When the edges begin to dry out, turn and cook for 30 seconds then turn again. After 30 seconds remove the tortilla and keep warm in a clean tea towel.

Tips

• Masa harina is made from coarse maize flour and can be found at Mexican stores, specialist sections of supermarkets and online.
• Make your own corn tortilla chips: Preheat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/ gas 6. Oil a large baking tray with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cut the tortillas into triangles and spread on the baking tray. Sprinkle with a little salt and smoked paprika and rub it into the tortillas. Roast for 5 minutes in the oven and then turn the chips over and cook on the other side until golden and crisp.

We run regular Mexican Cookery Courses so if you're looking for more inspiration do check our course calendar and sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date.

We love feedback so let us know what you think in the comments or on social media! Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram and, if you like this post, please share it!

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link.