TThis flavorful cream of corn soup is a delightful glimpse into classic French cuisine of yesteryear.

This recipe technique appears in our first cook book, ‘French Cooking Academy: 100 Essential Recipes for the Home Cook’.

This flavorful veloute of corn is a delightful glimpse into the classic French cuisine of the old days. By using a thin version of béchamel sauce as a base, this simple technique yields a rich and velvety smooth soup. It's a satisfying style of soup, perfect for small or larger servings. You can use this technique to create a variety of soups by replacing the corn with ingredients like mushrooms, asparagus, cauliflower, carrots and tomatoes.

Serves: 6
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 30 g (1 oz) unsalted butter

• 30 g (1 oz) all-purpose flour

• 800 ml (3⅓ cups) whole milk

• 2 small shallot peeled and roughly chopped

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 sprig thyme

• 2 whole cloves

• 1 clove of garlic ( peeled and halved)

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 2 cans (400 g each, 15 oz each) standard corn kernels, drained ( I used 6oon grams for the veloute and kept the rest for garnish but you use more or less as you like)

• 45 ml (3 tbsp) heavy cream

• 5 g (1 tbsp) chopped fresh chives, for garnish

MISE EN PLACE

• Measure and prepare the ingredients

• Have an immersion blende ready to process the veloute

METHOD

1. To start, prepare the béchamel base by melting the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the flour all at once and mix with a wooden spoon to form a paste. Cook this mixture for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and allow the roux to cool completely.

2. Next, in a large saucepan, combine the milk, shallot, bay leaf, thyme, cloves, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, ensuring it doesn’t boil. Once the milk is warm, strain half of it into the saucepan with the cooled roux. Off the heat, whisk the milk and roux until smooth. Gradually add the rest of the milk mixture while whisking, then place the saucepan back on medium heat and bring it to a light boil while whisking constantly. Cook for 2 minutes once it starts to boil, then turn off the heat.

3. Now, add the drained corn kernels to the béchamel (make sure to keep at least a few tablespoons for the decoration). Use an immersion blender to blitz the mixture until smooth.

4. then, strain the soup through a coarse-mesh sieve into another saucepan, pressing through as much pulp as possible for a smooth texture. Stir in the heavy cream to adjust the consistency to your liking and taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and white pepper. Finally, divide the soup among small bowls and garnish with chopped fresh chives and some corn kernels.

   TIPS

   • To vary, substitute the corn with mushrooms, asparagus, or another vegetable of your choice (typically the amount of pureed vegetable you need should be around half the weight of the milk you use. note the vegetable you add must be already cooked unless you use tomatoes.

   • Serve this velvety soup as an elegant starter or a comforting main course.