Quick Corn Chowder with Toasted Tortillas

This was an impromptu dinner that I hadn't intended to make this week. My husband hasn't been well, and soup seemed like a good idea. I wish I could say I used gorgeous summer sweet corn from my CSA for this soup, but I had none, and had to turn to frozen corn instead. If you have fresh corn on hand, please use it!

This soup is remarkably simple, a sort of fluid polenta-that-isn't-actually-polenta, topped with yummy Mexican-inspired toppings and featuring lots of interesting colors. I took Nigella's recipe and ran with it, throwing in some things I happened to have in the fridge. The result was a tasty and soul-satisfying meal; everything soup should be, if you ask me.

Blue corn tortillas are a fun and more interesting chip, but feel free to use white or yellow corn chips if that's what you have.

Quick Corn Chowder with Toasted Tortillas
adapted from Nigella Express
serves 3-4

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups frozen sweet corn, defrosted (or fresh corn kernels)
2 scallions, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons semolina flour
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
salt to taste
handful lightly salted blue corn tortilla chips
1/2 cup grated cheese (cheddar or mozzarella are best)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Drain the corn and put into a food processor with scallions and semolina. Process to form a paste, leaving some texture but very few (if any) whole kernels.

2. Warm the broth in medium pot over medium-high heat. When hot, stir in the corn paste. It will break up and distribute throughout the broth as it heats up. Stir in the bell pepper and about half the jalapeno. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer for about 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, preheat toaster oven (or oven) to 375. On a foil-lined baking sheet, spread out the chips and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for about 5-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and starting to brown.

4. Serve the soup, about two ladles per person, topped with the cheesy chips and remaining jalapeno.

Enjoy!