Sopa de Elote (Mexican Corn Soup) Recipe

Satisfying and delicious, this Sopa de Elote (Mexican Corn Soup) is filled with the authentic flavors of regional Mexican cooking. It's also economical!

Ingredients

Vegetable oil cooking spray
5 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen
6 cups reduced-salt chicken broth
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 small onion, chopped
1 medium-size clove of garlic, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped (2 ribs)
1 large ripe tomato or 3 ripe Roma tomatoes, chopped
2 medium-size fresh poblano chilis, seeded and cut into 2-by-¼-inch strips
¼ cup chopped cilantro, divided
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
⅓ cup light sour cream

Directions

Before you begin: Wash your hands.

1. Place corn in a 4-quart pot with chicken broth. Bring to a boil over medium heat; reduce to simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Remove 1 cup of the corn from the broth and reserve.
2. Coat a nonstick skillet with the cooking spray and place over medium heat.
3. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil and sauté onion, garlic and celery for 5 minutes until softened.
4. Purée the onion mixture, broth, corn and tomatoes in a blender until smooth. Add purée to the pot and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Using the same nonstick skillet, sauté chilis in the remaining teaspoon of oil for 5 minutes. Add to the pot along with the reserved corn. (The peppers will blacken and become soft).
6. Add 2 tablespoons cilantro and the salt and pepper to the soup; cook for 5 minutes.
7. Remove from heat. Add sour cream and blend well. Garnish each serving with 1 teaspoon chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Cooking Notes

Substitute plain low-fat or nonfat yogurt for the light sour cream, or make a non-dairy version with your favorite vegetarian sour cream or yogurt.

Two pounds of frozen corn kernels or about 10 ears of fresh corn will yield 5 cups.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 cup
Serves 4

Calories: 200; Total Fat: 6g; Saturated Fat: 2g; Cholesterol: 10mg; Sodium: 330mg; Total Carbohydrate: 33g; Dietary Fiber: 4g; Protein: 8g.