CORN AND YELLOW PEPPER SOUP

CORN AND YELLOW PEPPER SOUP image

Yield 6-8 people

Number Of Ingredients 13

1 medium yellow or sweet onion
4 stalks celery
1/2 stick butter
4 yellow peppers
3 cobs corn, uncooked, preferably sweet (frozen may be substituted)
Thyme, several sprigs
Bay leaves (2)
1 tsp white rice
1 qt chicken stock
2 ripe tomatoes
2-4 ounces goat's cheese
Fresh mint, 12 leaves
Extra virgin olive oil

Steps:

Peel onion and slice it and the celery thin; add to melted butter in heavy saucepan. Cook gently, stirring, until transparent. Remove seeds and slice peppers thin; add to saucepan and continue to cook gently for ten minutes. Slice kernels off of the corn cobs and add to the saucepan along with the thyme, bay leaves, rice, stock, one quart of water, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Puree in food processor, being careful to vent the top so the hot liquid doesn't cause an explosion. A blender is not recommended. The soup can be cooled before this step, if necessary. Check the seasoning and reheat gently. Blanche the tomatoes and remove the skin, remove the seeds and chop flesh into 1/4" or smaller cubes. Crumble the goat's cheese or cut into 1/4" cubes, if possible. Partial freezing may help. Chop the mint leaves finely with a very sharp knife. Serve the soup very hot, drop the tomatoe and goat's cheese cubes on the surface, sprinkle with the mint, drizzle the EVOO on top and serve.