Corn Soup (Sopa de Elote)

Ingredients:

3 small ears of corn (or 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed)
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
3 small tomatoes, peeled and chopped (about 3/4 lb)
1 qt beef broth
1 New Mexico, Pasila, or ancho chile, roasted, peeled, and chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves, crushed
1/4 cup whipping cream
cilantro leaves for garnish

Instructions:

If using fresh corn, cut kernels from cobs. Scrape cobs with a spoon and discard cobs. Measure corn- you should have about 1 1/2 cups. Puree 3/4 cup corn in a blender or food processor and set aside.

Mash garlic with salt to make a paste. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic paste. Cook until onion is tender but not browned. Add tomatoes.

Cook slowly 10 minutes, mashing tomatoes with a spoon. Add broth, chiles, oregano, pureed corn and whole corn kernels. Taste and add salt if needed.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Stir in cream. Cook until heated through. To serve, pour into soup bowls and garnish with cilantro leaves.

Serves 6.

Adapted from recipe by Bayhill, recipezaar.com