I guess my mind is on the perfectly sweet and delicious corn and basil I keep finding at the farmer’s market, because here’s another crazy delicious recipe taking advantage of this spring bounty.
Taking my lead from Serious Eats, here’s a way to whip up a corny, corny soup with lots of deep, rich, and complex flavor in under 30 minutes using your pressure cooker. (I suppose if you didn’t have a pressure cooker you could cook this for about four times as long, for similar results.) If you’ve never had corn soup (I hadn’t), you’re in for a treat: it’s like the essence of corn and so creamy without adding any extra cream. Plus, it’s vegan if you use vegetable broth. I take this to the next level by topping it all with crispy chorizo – in my case, soy chorizo, so that’s vegan, too. What a world!
Pressure Cooker Corn Soup with Basil and Leeks
Ingredients
- 2 tbl butter
- 2 small leeks, dark green parts discarded, roughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 4 ears of corn, husk and silk removed, cobs broken in half crosswise and reserved
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 sprigs basil
- 3.5 cups chicken or veggie broth
- Minced fresh chives, for serving
- Crispy chorizo, for serving
Instructions
- Melt butter over medium heat in a pressure cooker. Add leeks and a big pinch of salt. Blend the garlic in the Magic Bullet and add to the leeks. Cook, stirring, until softened, about four minutes.
- Add corn with cobs, bay leaf, basil sprig, and enough broth to barely cover the corn.
- Seal pressure cooker and bring to high pressure. Cook for 15 minutes. Release pressure using quick-release method and uncover.
- Fish out the corn cobs, bay leaf, and basil sprigs. Discard them.
- Working in batches, transfer remaining mixture to the Magic Bullet. Blend, adding broth as necessary to get a nice consistency. Taste for salt.
- Serve, passing chives and chorizo.