Yay, another food inside food recipe! If you take a gander at my last few posts, you’ll see I really love two things: stuffed foods and finger foods. I’m pretty convinced that food inside food is as good as it gets. So when I saw this amazing squash growing in my mom’s garden, I just couldn’t resist; this I just had to stuff! This is a corn and poblano soup… made light and simple. The corn cobs are cooked directly into the soup broth to add extra flavor (like a stock) along with several herbs, a delicious poblano pepper, onion, and the squash itself.
This is a pattypan, or scallop squash. “Pattypan squash, sunburst squash, white squash, scallopini or button squash in is a summer squash notable for its small size, round and shallow shape, and scalloped edges, somewhat resembling a small toy top, or flying saucer… The pattypan squash is also known as scallop squash, granny squash, custard marrow, or custard squash.” Thanks, Wikipedia, for a thousand names for one thing. No matter what you call it, it’s an awesome looking squash that comes in many sizes and colors. This one, as you can see, was ginormous… so I figured a soup would be a perfect use for it’s bowlish shape and size 🙂
I made a corn and poblano chowder-like soup, with a touch of squash that I added from the inside of the squash (couldn’t waste that goodness). I should mention that while we tend to use poblanos and pasillas interchangeably in United States, they are actually not the same pepper. I have read numerous times that this is due to California produce markets mislabeling poblanos as pasillas way back in the day… a mistake that was apparently never fixed. So now we all call poblanos pasillas and pasillas poblanos. They are both heart-shaped, dark green, long peppers similar in spiciness and flavor. Use whichever you can find… it won’t make too big of a difference 🙂
This soup is super light- no cream or potatoes to thicken it up- just the corn and a little milk make this delicate and flavorful. The pepper adds a flavor similar to a roasted pepper without adding too much spice. I added a little extra zing at the end with some crushed red pepper!
Just 2 cobs of corn make enough kernels for a nice large batch… plus some onions, pepper, squash, and herbs, this is a tasty summer, fall, winter, or spring treat 🙂
To top it, I thought some fresh avocado would be a nice touch… totally optional, but if you have one lying around,
it adds a nice freshness to the finished product.
This is the pattypan… if you don’t have a squash on hand, no worries!
You don’t have to add the squash to the recipe
at all- it’s just as great when it’s corn soup in a bowl!!
at all- it’s just as great when it’s corn soup in a bowl!!
Makes 2 extra large servings
INGREDIENTS
2 squash- optional
2 corn cobs, about 2 cups kernels
1/2 yellow onion
1 large poblano or pasilla pepper (read note above about peppers)
3 cups water
3 cups water
2 dry bay leaves
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup cilantro
1/2 cup cilantro
1 cup milk
extra salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil, a couple drizzles
for garnish: red pepper flakes, avocado, & cilantro
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Start with squash, if using…
Cut out the middle with a small knife
Then scrape out seeds and flesh, so you have a bowl shape- I find a spoon easiest
Set aside to use for soup…
Drizzle some olive oil over the top and inside of
squash and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper
Bake for about 45 minutes, until cooked and soft- by the time it’s
cooked, the soup should be done and ready to serve in it!
Remove any seeds from the squash you cut out… save the good stuff!
Chop up squash…
And onion…
And pepper…
Heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat
Toss in onion, pepper, and squash- sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and cook for
about 5 minutes or so, until softened a onions are becoming translucent and fragrant
Add water, bay leaves, cumin, thyme, salt, and pepper
Let cook for about 5 more minutes
Meanwhile, prep corn- remove husks and then snap cobs in half
Add to broth- they may not immerse completely in water- that’s okay… when you cover the pot they will steam and cook beautifully inside the soup, as well as add a wonderful flavor to the broth
Place lid on pot an let cook for about 10 minutes, until corn is just about done
Remove corn and place on a cutting surface to cook
Meanwhile, turn heat to low and let soup continue to cook- uncovered is fine
Cut kernels off of corn… I see a lot of tips and such about how to
cut corn- a lot of people like the bowl turned upside down in a bowl trick
I just hold the corn sideways on a cutting board and cut- whatever works 🙂
Should yield about 2 cups or so…
Dump corn kernels in soup…
And add milk
Chop up cilantro…
And add to the soup
Stir, cover, and let cook for about 10 minutes
Uncover and remove bay leaves
This part is optional, though I think it creates a nice texture to the soup…
Take a masher of some sort and mash up the corn and other soup goodies
You;ll notice the soup is on the brothier side- this helps to create a little bit of a thicker texture
I leave chunks, too- but mashing a little here and there
does something good to it… adds a chowdery feel 🙂
By now you should have a nice
looking and tasting soup- give it a try and adjust seasonings as desired
Squash should be just about done…
Remove from oven and check
Fill with soup, top with cilantro and red pepepr flakes (for spice and color!)
And add avocado if you want, too!
Dig in and enjoy!!
