Chilled Corn & Crab Soup

I spent a wonderful weekend with friends in Princeton and Yardley. Plane had delays each way, biggest inconvenience landed in PA during rush hour. All those complaining about traffic in Nashville should experience rush hour in Philly. Arrived home Sunday night. Monday morning painting and then home to plan meals and off to Costco and Publix. I planned ahead for an easy dinner on Monday night. Salmon, we bought, was steamed with Tea Rub Spice Blend from Annapolis. I made rice with truffle salt (Annapolis) again and a new spice from Penzeys called garlic shoots, very good. Rounded out the meal with cooked fresh spinach. Tonight we had corn and crab soup.

Ingredients

• 7-8 medium ears corn (5 C)
• 4 T + 1 t unsalted butter
• 2 C whole milk
• Salt and black pepper
• 8 oz. lump crabmeat, picked over for shells
• 2 T thinly sliced fresh chives (2 t dried)
• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 1 T EVOO

Instructions

1. Husk the corn and cut the kernels from the cobs to yield 5 C. Set aside 3 cobs and discard the rest. (Way past corn season here. I used frozen corn.)
2. In a 4 qt. saucepan, melt 4 T of the butter over medium heat. Add the thinly sliced shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned, about 5 minutes.
3. Set aside 1/2 C corn kernels and add the rest to the pan.
4. Add the milk, 1 3/4 C water, 2 t salt, and 1/4 t pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer. (I emptied my half-in-half, buttermilk and brought up the rear with non-fat milk.) Bring to a gentle simmer.
5. If you use fresh corn, hold a cob over the pot, scrape it with the dull side of a knife to release some of the corn milk.
6. Add the cob to the pot, breaking it in half to fit, if necessary. Repeat with the remaining cobs. Simmer stirring occasionally, until the corn kernels are just tender, 12 minutes.
7. Discard the corn cobs, and puree the soup in batches using a blender or food processor. Pass through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing hard on the solids with a ladle to extract as much liquid as possible. Refrigerate the soup until cold. (Do not try an immersion blender, kernels too tough. I used a blender and really blended so it turned into a very thick soup. Maybe if company was coming I would have strained, but Jim and I felt it was fine. I did not refrigerate it, but did not reheat it.)
8. Heat the remaining 1 t butter in a small skillet over medium-low heat.
9. Add the chopped shallot, and cook, stirring until tender, about 3 minutes. Let cool.
10. In a medium bowl, combine the corn, crab, chives, 1/2 t salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Toss gently to combine. Season to taste with more salt, pepper, and lemon juice. (I think it was way too salty and and needed no more.)
11. Add 1 T lemon juice to the soup.
12. Divide among 4 or 6 bowls, divide the crab and corn mixture per bowl and serve.