Chilled Summer Corn Shooter
- 3 cups whole milk
- 3 ears of fresh corn, kernels cut from cobs, break cobs in half and reserve them for later
- 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
- 1 large onion, chopped
- ½ teaspoon of kosher salt (or more to taste)
- 1 large carrot, peeled, thinly sliced
- 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 2 cups rich chicken stock (boil down canned or carton stock a few minutes in saucepan to reduce by 1/3 volume)
- 4 fresh thyme sprigs (tied together with cotton string for easy retrieval)
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper (or to taste)
- 2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice
- basil olive oil or minced chives for garnish
Bring milk, corncob halves and thyme just to a boil in large soup pot. Remove from heat, cover and let steep.
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, sprinkle with salt and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes (do not let onion brown). Add carrot, celery and garlic; cook until vegetables are soft, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Add corn kernels, cover and cook another 5 minutes. Add vegetables and reduced chicken stock to the milk and corncobs. Increase heat and bring to boil. Cover partially, reduced heat to low, and simmer 25 minutes to blend flavors.
Discard corncobs and thyme springs. Cool soup for at least 15 minutes. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until very smooth. Strain into large bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible (if you have it, use a food mill for this step). Stir in lemon juice and additional salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill overnight.
Serve garnished with a swirl of basil olive oil and/or minced chives.