Corn Potage (Japanese Corn Soup)
A rich, silky Japanese-style corn soup made by roasting fresh corn kernels and simmering the whole cobs to extract maximum sweetness, then blending smooth and enriching with milk and heavy cream.
⏱️ Prep: 15 min🍳 Cook: 45 min
Ingredients
| 4 ears | corn (ears, or 1.5 cans / 3 cups frozen) | |
| 1 Tbsp | 15 ml | extra virgin olive oil |
| — | kosher salt (about 2 Tbsp total for the recipe) | |
| 1/4 tsp | 1.3 ml | paprika |
| 1/2 | onion | |
| 1 1/2 Tbsp | 23 ml | unsalted butter |
| 3 cups | 720 ml | water |
| 1 cup | 240 ml | milk |
| 1 cup | 240 ml | heavy cream (or heavy whipping cream) |
| — | parsley, to garnish | |
| — | freshly ground black pepper |
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients and preheat the oven to 450 F (230 C).
- Slice off the corn kernels, saving the cobs for later.
- Spread the kernels on a rimmed baking sheet, add olive oil, a sprinkle of kosher salt and the paprika, mix with your hands and spread out in a single layer. Roast for 15 minutes, then set aside.
- Meanwhile, thinly slice the onion against the grain. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot, add the onion and a pinch of salt and saute until translucent.
- Add the roasted kernels and water, then add the reserved cobs, pushing them down so they are covered (add more water if needed).
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, cover, lower to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes, skimming the foam for a refined taste. Discard the cobs.
- Blend the soup smooth with an immersion blender (or let it cool slightly and blend in batches). For a corn-potage texture, strain through a fine-mesh sieve.
- Return the soup to the pot, add the milk and heavy cream (ratio to taste), bring back to a simmer and cook uncovered about 10 minutes, stirring often, until more flavorful.
- Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, tasting as you go. Serve hot or chilled, drizzled with olive oil and/or heavy cream and garnished with finely chopped parsley.