Black bean and roasted corn soup

For my soup this week, I was ready to branch out and go non-Latin. Then my father-in-law brought over a huge bag of fresh sweet corn (corn on the cob). How else to use six ears of corn but to make soup?

My first thought was a nice roasted corn and black bean soup... but we only had refried black beans. So instead of a chunky black bean soup, this is more of a pureed (although it's not), smooth soup. That means it goes even better with a grilled cheeze sandwich!

Black bean and roasted corn soup

vegan, gluten-free

serves 6

Ingredients

• 6 ears of corn (or about 2 C frozen)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 5 cloves of garlic, run through a press or diced
• 1 can refried black beans (or just black beans)
• 1 can chopped green chiles (the small ones-- about 4 1/2 oz)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 C vegetable broth, stock, or water
• juice of 1/2 a lime
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp chipotle powder
• salt

Directions

• Prep the corn. If you have fresh ears, remove husks and stringy bits, place cobs on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and salt, and roast for about 20 minutes (turning halfway through) on 375. After the cobs cooled, I grated them into the soup at the appropriate step. It's a pain, but it's really nice to have only the digestible part of the corn, and it keeps the smooth texture of the soup. You can also slice the kernels off with a knife. If you have frozen, roast for 5-10 minutes (or until golden brown) on 375, try to flip as many kernels as you can, and roast on the other side til golden brown-- much shorter, about 3-5 minutes.
• Saute onions in olive oil in a large pot on medium heat until they start to brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, saute another 2 minutes.
• Pour in refried black beans, stir until everything is well-mixed and the bean mixture is heated through.
• Stir in chiles and tomato paste.
• Slowly add the vegetable stock, stirring to keep things smooth.
• Bring to a slow boil and simmer for 10-20 minutes, until soup thickens to a consistency you like.
• Add the fresh lime juice, spices, and salt to taste. Garnish with fresh cilantro if you like.