2000s Recipes + Menus
Cold Avocado Corn Soup with Cilantro Oil
Serves6
- Active time:50 min
- Start to finish:2 1/2 hr
Crema—a Mexican cultured heavy cream similar to sour cream—is often drizzled over enchiladas and tostadas and added to side dishes and sauces. Here it lends a tangy balance to rich avocado and sweet corn.
May 2005
For soup
- 1 fresh or frozen ear of corn, shucked
- 4 cups plus 2 tablespoons water
- 1 garlic clove, smashed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/4 cups chopped white onion
- 1 fresh serrano chile, stemmed and coarsely chopped (including seeds)
- 2 firm-ripe California avocados (1 to 1 1/4 lb total)
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup crema or sour cream
For cilantro oil
- 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
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Special equipment:
a 3/4-inch melon-ball cutter
Make soup:
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Roast corn on rack of gas burner over high heat, turning occasionally with tongs, until kernels are charred in spots, 4 to 5 minutes. (Alternatively, heat a dry well-seasoned cast-iron skillet and roast corn over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes.) Transfer corn to a cutting board and, when cool enough to handle, cut kernels from cob with a sharp knife, then cut cob into thirds.
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Bring kernels, cob pieces, 4 cups water, garlic, salt, and 1/2 cup onion to a boil in a 3-quart saucepan and boil until liquid is reduced to about 3 cups, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool, uncovered. Discard cob pieces.
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Purée corn mixture along with chile and remaining 3/4 cup onion in a blender, then pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing hard on and then discarding solids. Return broth to cleaned blender.
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Quarter, pit, and peel 1 avocado, then add to blender with 2 tablespoons lime juice and purée until smooth. Transfer soup to a bowl and cover surface with plastic wrap. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill soup at least 1 hour.
Prepare cilantro oil while soup chills:
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Purée cilantro, oil, and salt in cleaned blender, scraping down sides of blender several times. Pour oil into cleaned fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl and let drain 15 minutes (do not press on solids). Discard solids.
Assemble soup:
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Halve and pit remaining avocado and scoop small balls from flesh with melon-ball cutter, then toss gently with remaining tablespoon lime juice in a bowl.
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Whisk together crema and remaining 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl until smooth.
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Season soup with salt and ladle into 6 shallow soup bowls. Divide avocado balls among bowls, then drizzle with crema and cilantro oil.
Cooks' notes:
- Soup can be chilled up to 1 day.
- Cilantro oil can be made 3 hours ahead and chilled, covered.
- Keywords
- ruth cousineau,
- mexican,
- vegetarian,
- soup,
- corn
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