Mexican Corn Soup

When I was in culinary school, I had an instructor who was absolutely genius when it came to making soup! I always use his recipes when I want to make a killer soup. Certainly the most popular has been Cream of Jalapeno Soup…but that recipe shall remain a proprietary blend, for now at least!

The recipe I am putting up today is Mexican Corn Soup. The reason I chose it is because I recently made it, and we have been really enjoying it. The recipe makes a very large batch, and that is also why I want to share it with you! Making large quantities of food is really an efficient way to cook, for obvious reasons. So don’t be intimidated by the large quantities here! Just dust off those kitchen tools that have motors, turn up the music, and make an afternoon of it! It will be so easy to use if you freeze it in individual portions.  

Mexican Corn Soup

8 oz. butter (for sautéing vegetables)

2 oz. garlic1

¾ lb. onion, small dice

6 oz. jalapenos, minced

1 ½ lb. carrots, small dice

1 ½ lb. celery, small dice

3 lb. corn kernels (canned, frozen or fresh)

1 lb. red pepper, small dice

2 Tbl. Cumin, toasted

¾ c. fresh cilantro

1 ½ tsp. cayenne pepper

Tobasco sauce, to taste

½ oz. chicken paste (boullion)

1 oz. Beef boullion

2 Tbl. Oregano, hand rubbed

6 qts. Chicken stock, heated

12 oz. blond roux (equal parts flour and butter cooked til very lightly browned) 

Start heating the stock first, and when it is almost, but not quite boiling, add the roux and stir vigorously. Stir it frequently while you are doing the other things as it thickens. The roux takes 8-10 minutes at 180 degrees to fully thicken, so be sure your stock stays hot and cooking!

As you are doing that, start to sauté your diced veggies in the butter. Start with the denser ones (carrots) and add the others in succession. The reason you don’t throw them all in at once is to keep the temp hot enough to “sauté”.

Add all your spices to the veggies, and then put in your boullions to infuse the flavor. I like to use the finest quality base I can find. My favorite brand is called Better Than Boullion. One of the reasons it is good is because the first ingredient is NOT salt. Once you have your veggies cooked, you can add the thickened chicken stock.

At this point I decided to put in chicken and black beans. I cooked and cubed 7 chicken breasts and added them. And I also added about 6 c. cooked black beans.

I think the soup is best when served with tortilla chips, sour cream and cilantro. But it is good any way you eat it! Ooo, it’s so good! Now I want to go pull some out of the freezer!