20-Minute Challenge: Corn Soup with Vadouvan Cream

I have been tossing this idea around in my head for a while because I still had some summer corn in my freezer and felt it was time to make use of it. I wanted to use Vadouvan because I bought a bag of it about 8 months ago but hadn't tried it yet. (FYI - my sister tells me that it has appeared on many a menu recently so yay me for being on trend. Should you wish to make your own, please click on the recipe link below.)

I decided to add some polenta because I thought it would enhance the corn taste of the soup and also some substance to the dish (helpful when dealing with my 14 year old's appetite). I made the mistake of adding spinach in the name of "extra veggies are always nice" and, though it looked pretty in green flecks in the soup, next time I will leave it out and let the corn flavor shine through on its own.

This 20-minute challenge took 17 minutes and 42 seconds, which is not bad timing to get an unusual soup and brightly flavored toasts on the table.

This served 2 for dinner and would make 4 people happy as an appetizer course.

2 cups frozen corn

1/2 cup polenta

3 cups water (were I using fresh corn, I would add the shelled cobs to the water to further enhance the corn taste and remove them at the end before blending)

1 cup heavy cream

2 tsps Vadouvan powder

1/2 shallot, peeled and quartered

1 piece of ginger, about the size of the bowl in a teaspoon measuring spoon

1 Thai chili

1 tsp olive oil

Salt to taste

Add the oil to a large stock pot along with the Vadouvan, the shallot, the ginger and the Thai chili. Turn the heat to low and cook, stirring often, until the oil is hot and sizzling and the Vadouvan spice mix is fragrant.

Add the water and bring to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil, prepare your mint and preserved lemon pesto.

When the water has come to a rolling boil, add the polenta. Stir well, cover the dish and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Add the frozen corn (and 3 large handfuls of baby spinach if using) and cook for 2 additional minutes.

Remove from heat and blitz using an immersion blender.

Return to the heat, add the cream and salt to taste. While waiting for the soup to heat up, make your toast and spread each slice liberally with pesto.

Ladle the soup into your soup bowls, drizzle with a little extra cream and a sprinkle of Vadouvan and - 17 minutes and 42 seconds later - homemade soup and topped up toast on the table for dinner.

Vadouvan recipe, here.

#soup #veggieother #veggieapp