Creamy Roasted Corn Soup Smacked with Chipotle

Smokey Corn Soup with Apple Bacon on the side

Though this has been quite a balmy Winter here in the Northeast, I still enjoy a hearty chowder like corn soup. I love a rich creamy-sinkmyteethinto-soup this time of year. It’s also a way to get some vegetables in when it’s hard to find decent green things. I would love to tell you that I roasted ears of corn on the grill. It’s easy to imagine charring the kernels while the silks and leaves hung off the side of the stove. Seriously I could of, but I didn’t. Nope. I used frozen corn. And no noses in the air please. It’s really the way to go here.

Frozen corn has great flavor and decent nutritional value. To give it some real depth and character I laced this soup with a hearty pinch of chipotle giving it a smokey kick. Cream and cilantro finish it off with a squeeze of lime, which balanced out the creaminess with some cool and a twinkle of brightness.

But I’ll let you in on another even BETTER secret. I didn’t use any cream here either. My big reveal: silken tofu.

I got into using this when my Dad was sick and I was struggling to get nutrition into him. He could only manage small (I really mean teeny) cups of soup at a time. I did my best to make them as digestible and as power packed as possible. Dairy bothered him due to his medications, but not the tofu. He loved it, and so does everyone I make it for.

I usually don’t say it’s tofu just because folks get all incense and crunchy looks in their eyes- so what they don’t know is actually good for them.

I did use some of the bacon fat as the grease to sautee my garlic and onions- so a little bit of evil there- but roughly a tablespoon in an entire pot is no great sin. And just to be fair, I serve the bacon on the side- which gives the option for those with concerns to partake or not.