This soup is an ode to good days, good weeks, and an homage to all things ephemeral and fresh, like each new day. While this bright soup could certainly be made year round (and I encourage it) there is a certain magic that comes from using the bounty the season lavishes upon us. This soup draws its character by falling in the moments between: The brief shelf life of an avocado after it’s opened; a zucchini blossom before it wilts; The moments it takes for the sugars in sweet corn to convert to starch after it’s harvested and husked. These are moments to appreciate rather than lament. Moments that inspire pause and an embrace of the pure potential of just being. After all, it’s an artfully strung together series of seemingly unremarkable moments that leads to the remarkable ones.
Zucchini and tomatillos comprise the base of this soup. Peas and corn, the stray marbles and kernels now rolling across my kitchen floor, add a sweetness and texture complemented by the brightness of a lime and the smoke and heat from the charred serrano chili. Plentiful and thus affordable this time of year, I’ve been stocking up on everything these days.
A lot of times navigating my way through the world feels like a vicious confidence game played on a muddy field. The conditions are always changing and the footing is tenuous at best. The kitchen certainly felt like that at first too. However, the longer you slush through the mud or work your way through different recipes, the more you’ll realize you’ve gained a certain literacy–the fortitude that comes with knowing that it’s not your first rodeo. This is what I like most about a recipe like this. It was just screaming for an avocado. Or fresh olive oil. It needed wilted zucchini flowers and a nut or seed to really elevate the texture to a regal estate. These are things you figure out by having done it before. I also suspect that you could dump all of the ingredients into the pot in one shot and it would be just as good, but I didn’t want to mess with the texture so I made it in batches.
The markets in Mexico are stocked with these ingredients almost year round and it was such a joy to see them all here. Like French food, and often French culture, the Mexican food and culture are often misunderstood. The cuisine of Mexico is often light and innovative capitalizing upon seasonal ingredients, not the heavy, cheese and bean-slathered fare we see Stateside. This soup is a seasonal take on elote, but wearing its lighter, more elegant summer clothes. It’s a remarkable keeper.
Have a great rest of the week! Why am I baking pies at 11pm and then replenishing all the fruits I used up just to do it again the next week?! Do you do that?
SOPA VERDE DE ELOTE
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small-med zucchini, seeded, chopped into 1/4-inch cubes
- 3-4 small tomatillos, chopped into quarters
- 1/2 white onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups corn kernels
- 3 1/2 – 4 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup green peas
- 3-4 zucchini flowers (optional)
- a small handful of fresh cilantro, plus more to serve
- 1 or 2 small serrano chili, charred and peeled (see instructions below)
- handful of baby arugula or baby spinach
- 2 1/2 – 3 teaspoons fine grain sea salt, or to taste
To Serve:
- Toasted pepitas
- Greek yogurt
- lime wedges
- cilantro
- chopped roasted serrano
DIRECTIONS:
For Charring the Serrano Chilis:
Place whole chilis on a hot skillet or grill, cook, rotating regularly, until blistered and charred on all sides. Transfer to a glass bowl, cover, and let steam for a few minutes. Now the chiles are ready to peel.
For the Soup:
Heat one tablespoon of the butter in a large soup pot, add the zucchini and tomatillos and cook for a few minutes, until soft. Remove from the pot and blend using a hand blender or standard blender, until smooth.
Heat the oil in the same pot you used for the zucchini/tomatillo mixture and cook the onion and garlic, until translucent and soft. Add the pureed zucchini/tomatillo and cook over high heat for about three minutes, stirring constantly.
In a separate bowl, blend the corn kernels with 2 cups of water, peas, cilantro, chili, and arugula or spinach and zucchini flowers. Really aim to get the mixture very smooth. When smooth, add to the pot with zucchini mixture. Cook over medium-high heat for another few minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan constantly. Add another 1 1/2 cups of water, or more, depending on the consistency you like. Add the salt, plus more to taste, if needed. Serve with lots of the suggested toppings. Don’t skip on these, they add so much! Buen provecho!
Such a beautiful looking soup, Amanda. I am sure it was as delicious as it looks. So vibrant and colorful.
Your comment about how global cuisines change after they are Americanized is so true. We really need to follow the philosophy of eating what is in season.
Thanks so much, Jovina! It’s a great soup full of only fresh vegetables. It’s really true how a cuisine that leaves a country loses something. Eating in season is really something we’ve forgotten as a culture. I totally agree that we need to work harder towards getting back to it. PS I made your pie again last night with cherries. So quick and good!
This sounds perfect! I love everything in and on the soup. I can make it and top with my one lonely zucchini blossom that is begging to be picked!
Thank you, Stacy! It really is flavorful. I was skeptical since there’s no spice in it to flavor it, but it was so full of good flavor. I guess the sweet corn and the greens with cilantro and charred pepper was enough. How lovely that you have one lone zucchini blossom. You should definitely try it. Thanks for dropping by! xo
Simply stunning!! I love the use of the flowers!
Thanks so much. The zucchini blossoms were such a treat. I just ground them right in there! Enjoy the weekend!
Sadly you are right – most of the world thinks that Tex Mex is Mexican cuisine.
I can get fresh zucchini (with flowers), corn and peas from Martin the farmer, but tomatillos are more of a challenge. Perhaps they have some in the exotic fruit and veg shop across the street. There was a single Mexican food store in the East End of London, but it closed last year – fortunately I have a couple of Mexican friends who advise on the best online places to buy chills and harina de maíz.
I couldn’t help wondering what that thick soup might be like stuffed inside a zucchini flower that was then battered and fried… 😉
People hold onto that perception even here! I knew a lot of people might not have access to tomatillos, but the soup is just as good with zucchini alone. Tomatillos are typically used for salsas so I actually like the smoother texture a zucchini brings. I normally wouldn’t throw the flowers directly into the pot, but it’s what they do in Mexico. Next time I won’t blend them. I’ll sort of let them wilt with the heat and eat them that way, which is more Mexican. I think if you add less water, it does become more a salsa that you could stuff the blossoms with. The first puree may surely work. Either way you can’t go wrong with these flavors. Have a really great weekend, MD!
I know – people took me to “genuine” Mexican restaurants in Georgia which turned out to be Tex Mex, whereas the real Mexican is very different.
I’d rather see a recipe with original ingredients included – you get no criticism from me and I’ve definitely seen tomatillos in London recently. You’ve given me a good excuse to search them out and reminded me that I passed a tiny Mexican cafe on Tuesday that I need to check out 😉
…I can’t help thinking about stuffing when I see zucchini flowers.
Aw good. You should give that cafe a try. I agree. Until my recent work trips to Mexico City I had never thought of zucchini blossoms any other way but stuffing them. They’re so abundant there that they don’t seem like a precious piece of gold like they do here and they’re perfectly comfortable cooking them as a normal ingredient. I’ve had them thrown whole into soups, melted into quesadillas (which oddly in Mexico usually don’t contain cheese). A quesadilla is a folded tortilla, but it sometimes just has meat or zucchini flowers and no cheese at all unless you ask for it.
That’s hilarious, to sell a food named after cheese and not have cheese in it. As you say, zucchini flowers do seem precious, but I’ve eaten lots of nasturtiums and other flowers on salads in Spain, so why not zucchini 🙂
Those half shelled peas so perfectly captured the seasonality of this soup…I could almost taste it!
Thanks, Anna. For me peas and corn name the seasons! Xo
Ah, summer.
That’s all there is. : )
Lovely recipe, Amanda. Unfortunately, there are no tomatillos to be found in France as far as I know, perhaps I should start a Mexican produce farm here in Northern France; then I will finally be able to try out all those fabulous-sounding recipes! And though zucchini flowers are all over the South of France, everybody here discards them, and I’ve never seen them sold anywhere… I should try stealing a few the next time I go veggie-picking at the farm. Anyway… I love corn, and have never tried it with peas, though I already know it is delicious with zucchini; I just know I would love this soup! I hope you are having a nice summer, I am in Burgundy for a few days, and it is hot and dry, the opposite of the weather in Lille!
This soup is good even without the tomatillos. Heidi Swanson leaves them out completely. It is unfortunate that you can’t get all the wonderful Mexican foods over there, but you do have all the wonderful French food. That’s so funny that people discard the flowers there. In Italy they fry them. I know your love of corn and I do think you’d love this! Burgundy sounds wonderful. It’s a lovely time out. I’ve been hiking and trying to get outdoors when I can. It’s hard when you live in the city because I always have to find a way out. I owe you an email. XO
So fresh! Photos & soup – love it!
Thanks, Sabine 🙂
Yum yum, what a delight and from our mutual admired Heidi – definitely got to try this. You are so right, the Mexican cuisine can be really misunderstood and this soup is a proof in point: refreshing, light, zesty and how about the colours! Nice subtle play with colours, the Mexico pictures pick up the yellow of the zucchini flowers beautifully. N xx
Thanks so much, Nicole. Such a summery treat. I do adore heidis cooking. Have a great weekend! Xo
I couldn’t help but smile reading this.
Beautifully written as always Amanda ☺
What a great compliment Dana. Can’t wait to read what you’re up to this weekend.
Just gorgeous Amanda. I love the colour of this soup and the vegetables involved. I’ve got zucchini and cilantro growing in my garden. Tomatillos can be hard to find – can you recommend a substitute?
And yes – I am often baking at 11pm when the kitchen is cool and the house is quiet. And then I go to bed and smell the fresh bread on the counter. Or the aroma of freshly made jam wafting up the stairs. What could be better?
xo
I’m so jealous of your garden! I think you can leave tomatillos out and just use zucchini and this would work well. It’s nice to hear that you bake late too. I read online that I could leave fruiy pies out overnight and for days and it’s better that way. They don’t go bad because they’re isn’t much protein that will break down. I think I’d love a week in your kitchen. I hope you’re doing well and enjoying your summer. I need to drop by and see what you’ve been coming these days. I always get excited when you stop in 🙂 xo
What a flavorful summer soup and I love how you garnished it. I looks like Mexico in a bowl.
Thanks so much, Karen. When I’m not there I miss it and when I’m there I misses home dearly. This is the best way to be on both worlds. So seasonal and fresh. I hope you’re doing well and that your foot is healing nicely!
Absolutely gorgeous, Amanda. Your pictures are stunning too! 🙂
Thank you, Linda! Over been obsessing over your instagram!
looks delicious ncomforting soup!!!
Thanks, Dedy! it’s a nice soup either hot or cold.
I’ve written a post or two on my introduction to tex mex food when i moved to texas. honestly, I was stunned and seriously disappointed. horrible stuff. Love your photographs and this lovely post!
Thanks, Mimi. Yes there’s a huge difference between Tex Mex and actual Mexican food. And there’s a difference between street food and food that’s been elevated to an art form and Mexico seems to have a little bit of all of it. Your cooking seems to sometimes have a distinctive Western style with a tinge of Mexican and French. It seems to me you take the best from all worlds.
I am always eager to try more contemporary Mexican dishes like this, thank you for this recipe! Do you think substituting green tomatoes for the tamatillos would work well? I have an overabundance of them in my garden at the moment and am looking for ways to use them!
That’s awesome. I think green tomatoes taste different and might lend it more of a gazpacho flavor, but I think it would still taste great. Is add the zucchini for heft if you want to keep it similar but either way I think it would taste great. You can never do wrong with fresh veggies! Enjoy!