Last week I received this email from a friend:  

“Well, people, I am finally making it happen – the soup (swap) is on! Here’s how it works: make a pot of soup in advance of our meeting. Freeze single servings (about two cups) in quart size freezer bags. Simply label the bag with the type of soup and lay flat in the freezer. This will save space for all of the soupers! Kind of like a cookie swap, you will go home with as many as you bring. I’ll also make an additional yummy soup for us to eat together while we swap.”

A few years ago, with some nagging, I participated in a cookie swap, but I’ve never hosted my own as I’m a true savory girl at heart.  However, as someone who also likes a surprise, a protocol, and an excuse to talk about food, this party is basically my PERFECT event!    I have an excuse to research and experiment with several new recipes, and I will head home with some new treats.

So, in preparation for my inaugural swap (let’s be honest, when this goes well I will undoubtedly host my own) I decided to make this Spicy Tomato and Corn Soup.   

The version that I adapted here is blended and packs a good spicy punch.  The tomatillos and corn add some sweetness to balance that out. 

Here are my steps and notes when experimenting with this soup:

1. .“Grill the tomatoes and the onion”
   • I didn’t want to go outside because it was cold, and we don’t have a stovetop grill pan….So I cooked 6 tomatoes in a frying pan with a cover. After about 7 minutes they began to wilt. Not as much as the image on the website but enough to know that the skins would come off easily.
2. Next, I warmed up some stock.
   • The recipe called for 3 cups of veggie stock but I had some fresh bone broth I had made earlier in the week, so that went onto the stove.
3. Remove the tomato skins with tongs and place the tomatoes into the pot with teh stock.
4. Fry 2 cups of corn corn, and 1/2 of a red onion with some oil.
   • This is where I added a few good shakes of red pepper flakes which added much of the heat to the soup.
5. Once roasted to a point where the corn begins to darken, throw into the soup pot.
6. The recipe then called for chili in adobo sauce, which I realized that I FORGOT at the store, so, instead, I opened a large can of whole tomatillos and heated them in the fry pan as well. Once the skins were soft I removed them with tongs.
7. Throw the tomatillos into the soup pot with everything else (now the flavors are building!)
8. Spice up the soup
   • I added several spices to the veggies including garlic and chili powder.
9. Thicken the soup with 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Then, let it simmer for 10 minutes or so it all mixes together well
10. At this point it tasted yummy, but I didn’t love the chunky bits (onion wedges and large whole tomato pieces didn’t add the best flavor)…. so – in went the immersion blender!
11. My taste tester approved it and suggested I keep ‘some’ chunk, so I reserved some corn and placed that on top of the finished soup with some plain greek yogurt and toasted pita wedges.

For my final step, in preparation for the soup swap, I put the soup into freezer bags and laid them flat in the freezer!  I can’t wait to swap!