Summer’s over, back to work and back to what to have for lunch? Our lunchtime inspiration comes mainly from what’s left in the fridge after the weekend, cheese more often than not, but it’s nice to plan for at least the first couple of days. Mondays are easier with nice lunch.
Mexican charred sweetcorn soup – serves 4
- 1 dried ancho chilli
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus an extra bit for brushing on the corn cobs
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 4 roasted red peppers from a jar, chopped
- 1 litre veg stock (we use Swiss Marigold Bouillon powder made up to a litre)
- 2 corn cobs
- 1 lime, juiced
- a small bunch of coriander, to garnish
Put the dried chilli into a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak for 10 minutes, then pour off the water and remove the stalk and seeds from the chilli.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot and gently cook the onion and celery with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, then add the spices and cook for a minute. Add the ancho chilli, roasted peppers and veg stock, then simmer for 15 minutes. Season, then whizz until smooth and keep warm.
Meanwhile, remove the husks from the corn cobs, brush them with oil and season. Now you can cook them on a griddle pan until well-charred or if you have one this is very easy to do on a gas barbecue. It should take about 10 minutes. When the corn cobs have cooled a bit you can use a sharp knife to remove the corn kernels.
Add the charred corn and lime juice to the soup , then serve with some coriander on top.
(Original recipe by Adam Bush in Olive Magazine, August 2019.)
Jono & Jules do food & wine 
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