My sister is coming to stay and she is a veggie. Simply cannot give her mushroom risotto (apparently absolutely everyone else does) so have plumped for a starter of Lemongrass & Sweetcorn Soup. This elegant and refreshing dish is one of Maria Elia’s fantastic contemporary vegetarian recipes.
Lemongrass & Sweetcorn Soup with crème fraîche
Course: StarterDifficulty: Easy4
servingsIngredients
3 ears of corn or 325g frozen sweetcorn
50g butter
1 small white onion, finely chopped
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
3 tablespoons plain flour
1 litre milk
5 stalks lemongrass, finely chopped
4 tablespoons crème fraîche
salt and pepper
Directions
Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the corn kernels from the cob. Set cobs and kernels aside.
Gently heat the butter; add the onion, ginger, and chile. Sauté until softened but not browned (about 5 minutes). Add the flour, stir and cook for 1 minute. Add the milk, the lemongrass, corn and the cobs and stir, bringing to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Discard the corn cobs and blend the soup in a food processor until smooth, then pass through a sieve and season. Serve with a swirl of crème fraîche and Sweet Corn Relish (see below).
- Roll a corn cob in a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and cook on a preheated grill pan or over a charcoal fire until tender. When cool enough to handle, remove the corn kernels from the cob, place in a bowl and mix with 5 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper, 1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped, 3 tbsp chopped coriander leaves and a finely chopped lemongrass stalk.
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