Chef Gavin Kaysen walked away from his position of culinary operations for Chef Daniel Boulud’s ever-expanding culinary empire.
Why? He left New York to open his own restaurant, Spoon and Stable, in his hometown of Minneapolis.
The restaurant has quickly become a success, as Chef Kaysem puts it, “ If you cook good food, people are going to find you. “
And this recipe for his Sweet Summer Corn Soup is definitely good food!
So many of our childhood memories are tied to the food we make.
Here’s what Chef Kaysem has to say regarding his recipe which celebrates sweet summer corn at its peak now…
“I used to get corn from this farm stand with my dad growing up,…we’d shuck it and just boil it. That’s the memory I think of when making this.”
This soup is smooth, velvety and bursting with flavor. The secret? The stripped cobs simmer along with their kernels in a bath of stock and cream so all their starchy sweetness seeps out into the soup’s base.
Then the cobs come out, and the soup is pureed.
If you love sweet summer corn, you will love this soup!
Sweet Summer Corn Soup (Chef Gavin Kaysen)
Serves 4
Ingredients
¼ pound butter
1 cup thinly sliced leeks, whites only
½ cup thinly sliced yellow onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 and ½ cups corn kernels (from 4 to 6 ears), cobs reserved
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
½ cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ lime
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Chopped chives, for garnish
1. Melt butter in a medium stock pot over medium heat. Saute leeks, onions, and garlic until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes.
Add 4 cups corn kernels, reserved cobs, and just enough stock to cover corn.
Increase heat to medium-high and simmer until stock absorbs flavors of other ingredients, about 35 minutes.
Stir in cream and simmer until soup thickens, 10 to 15 minutes more.
Remove cobs and discard.
2. Use a blender (or immersion blender) or food processor to puree soup until smooth. (For an even smoother soup, pass it through a fine-mesh sieve.) Season soup with salt, pepper, and lime juice to taste.
Return soup to pan and keep warm over low heat.
3. Prepare garnishes: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat. Salute remaining corn kernels until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt.
4.To serve: Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle each serving with some of remaining olive oil and garnish with sautéed corn kernels and chives.
Note: My kernels did not stay on top for a photo, but fell in the soup which is quite okay. Next time I will add 1 cup instead of ½ cup of reserved corn kernels because I love the little crunch it adds to the soup.
This is truly a celebration of sweet summer corn in a bowl! It is delicious warm or room temperature.
