I made this soup in late late summer for a gathering of 25. Several people said it's the best soup they'd eaten. I think the corn stock was part of the magic, and the other part was the fact that peppers, tomatoes and corn were at their peak right now. I did add homemade/homegrown tomatillo salsa, but any canned or refrigerator salsa you love will be great.
Ingredients
avocado oil
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 leek, cut into half moons. (wash in a colander if it's dirty
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 red bell peppers, or 6 narrow red peppers (Jimmy Nardellos)
2 heads corn, shucked, kernels removed with a knife
3 early girl or 1 large heirloom tomato, diced
4 new potatoes, washed and cut into medium dice
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
8 cups corn broth
1 tsp sea salt
your favorite salsa
½ bunch cilantro, chopped, for serving
sour cream for serving
Instructions
1. In an 8 qt pot, cover the corn cobs (kernels already removed and set aside) with water and set to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour.
2. While the corn broth is simmering, start the soup in another big pot over medium high heat. Put a big glug of avocado oil in the pot, and add the onions, leeks, garlic and peppers. Saute for 5 minutes until the onions and garlic starts to brown. Add the potatoes, corn, chicken, tomatoes and enough of the cooking corn broth to cover everything, and simmer.
3. Remove the chicken thighs after 10 minutes, cool and chop. Continue cooking the soup until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. When everything is finished, add more corn broth to reach the soup consistency you like, add the salt, add ½ cup of salsa, taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
4. Serve the soup in bowls, and let people add more salsa, cilantro and sour cream to their liking. Kids love the soup as is.
