Creamy Corn Salsa Soup
This recipe is inspired by a recipe by White On Rice Couple. I heard Todd Porter and Diane Cu present a heart-warming keynote at BlogHer Food ’12 in Seattle last June. Their presentation was easily one of the most memorable for me at this conference. They talked about real life, dogs and emotion. I had a few tears steal down my cheek as I watched their tribute video to their recently-departed dog.
I am also in love with their photography and videography. If there’s anyone in the food blogging world whose skills in that regard I aspire to it’s White On Rice Couple. I’ve been following their blog ever since.
The recipe that I recreated is a super-simple Tomato & Corn Soup that they posted a few months back. The majority of the ingredients come from a can. It’s inexpensive – so cheap! – and perfect for when you’re cooking with limited resources in the kitchen.
Like, for example, when you’ve no longer got a functional stove and a hot plate will have to do.
The first time I made this soup was in mid-December right smack dab in the middle of my blog break. And I was like, oh man, why did I say I’d take a break because I could totally blog this recipe tonight! Still, I’m glad I took the break because I realized after the fact that I could do more to this to make it even better without making it any harder to prepare and also still keep it on the cost-effective side.
The first time my soup looked like this. Not bad for a quick snap with my iPhone, right?
The second time I made this I was definitely going to add in the green onions that the original recipe called for. I didn’t have any the first time. I like the subtle but still there bite of green onion. I kept the jalapeno and added a bit of cilantro in too. I didn’t even take a snap of that one. Sorry.
Then I made this soup the way it was meant to be made. With all of the above, plus I added in some frozen corn kernels for extra corniness and a can of black beans that were drained and rinsed. Those couple of things took this soup to a whole new level. A blue corn tortilla chip dipping level!
I was content to call this soup Black Bean & Corn Soup but when I saw Levi dipping his tortilla chips in the soup as if it was salsa or bean dip I knew I had to change the name so here it is Creamy Corn Salsa Soup.
Creamy Corn Salsa Soup
Print recipe
| Serves | 4-6 |
| Prep time | 5 minutes |
| Cook time | 25 minutes |
| Total time | 30 minutes |
| Meal type | Avocado, Black Beans, Cilantro, Corn, Tomatoes |
| Season | Fall, Winter |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno, minced (seeds removed if you require a milder heat level)
- 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
- 2 10oz cans creamed corn
- 1 1/2 cups plain unsweetened almond milk
- 1 14oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 stalks green onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 ripe avocado, sliced (optional)
Directions
| 1 | Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. |
| 2 | Saute diced onion, garlic and jalapeno until they begin to soften – about 5 minutes. |
| 3 | Add in diced tomatoes, creamed corn, black beans, almond milk and seasonings. |
| 4 | Bring to a simmer and let simmer for about 15 minutes. |
| 5 | Taste and adjust for seasoning. |
| 6 | Add in chopped green onion and cilantro and garnish with avocado, if using. |
| 7 | Serve immediately. |
| 8 | Serve immediately. |