Corn gazpacho is a great starter for your Fourth of July party
Simple and delicious straight out of the garden, abundant corn on the cob is one of the great things about summer. You boil it up, spread on a little butter, dig in and thank your lucky stars. But even perfection gets boring after a while. This cold refreshing soup is a way to have your corn and spoon it, too.
I was inspired by the classic Spanish gazpacho, but swapped out the tomato broth for corn liquid. Of course, any pureed vegetable will thicken a soup, but corn contains starch, which adds a seductive creaminess. (It's cornstarch in a box that's used to thicken Chinese dishes.)
The supporting ingredients are the usual gazpacho players — tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and garlic — supplemented by a lineup of some Mexican cousins: chile, lime juice and garlic croutons flavored with chile powder. You can deepen the recipe's Mexican connection by topping it off with diced avocado and chopped cilantro. (I used basil instead of cilantro because I can't resist the combo of basil and corn.)
A bowl of this cold corn soup is the perfect starter for a Fourth of July party, but simply adding some protein — boiled shrimp, say, or shredded rotisserie chicken — will turn it into the persuasive main course of any summer meal.
This dish is pretty quick to make, but you can make it even more quickly by losing the garlic croutons in favor of some crushed tortilla chips. And, happily, it improves in flavor if you prepare it a few hours — or a few days — ahead of time. Doing so in anticipation of the Fourth would allow you to check it off your list well before the fireworks begin.
• Sara Moulton is host of public television's “Sara's Weeknight Meals.” She was executive chef at Gourmet magazine for nearly 25 years and spent a decade hosting several Food Network shows, including “Cooking Live.” Her latest cookbook is “HomeCooking 101.”