Tomatillo Corn Soup with Chipotle Shrimp

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WOWZA. Normally I don't post twice in one day, but I just finished making this soup and it is too good to wait. But seriously, people. THIS IS GOOD. I found a recipe for a chilled avocado soup with corn and shrimp a few weeks ago in Cooking Light, but I didn't like the avocado soup. The corn-shrimp combination was quite good, though, so I decided I'd make a different soup that I would enjoy more to go with it. The corn looked great at the grocery store, so I grabbed that and a few other odds and ends, came home, experimented... and geez. Best experiment ever? Maybe...


SOUP INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 10 ears of corn
- 2 (12oz) cans tomatillos, drained and chopped
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 2 medium red potatoes, peeled and chopped
- ½ jalepeno, minced
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 4 cups chicken broth
- ¼ cup half-and-half
- salt and pepper

SHRIMP INGREDIENTS
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

- ½ teaspoon cumin

- ½ teaspoon pepper

- ¼ teaspoon salt

- 1 teaspoon olive oil

- kernels from 1 or 2 ears of corn
- ¼ cup red onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tbs. adobo sauce from chipotles in adobo
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- chopped avocado

To make the soup....
Cut off the kernels from all 10 ears of corn and put in a large soup pot with the butter. Add the chopped onion, chopped tomatillos, chopped potato, minced jalepeno, and salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened somewhat- about 15 minutes.

Pour 1/3 of the mixture into a food processor, adding the cilantro (all at once) and about 1/2 cup of chicken broth with it and blend until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot, stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon in order to help the liquid release. Once all liquid is out, dump the contents that is left in the strainer. Repeat steps of food processing and straining until all the vegetable mixture has been strained and is back in a pot and the vegetable skins are discarded. Add the rest of the chicken broth to the soup, the half-and-half, and stir. Taste for salt and pepper. Heat until very hot.

Meanwhile, make the shrimp....
Sprinkle the shrimp with the cumin, salt and pepper and set aside. Warm olive oil in a large non-stick pan  over medium heat. Add the shrimps and cook for 2 minutes. Turn them over onto their other sides and add the corn, onion, and garlic. Stir for another minute or two. Add the adobo sauce and lime juice and continue cooking until shrimps are no longer raw and sauce is incorporated. Turn off heat.

Put it all together... 
Ladle the soup into a bowl and place some of the shrimp-corn mixture into the middle. Sprinkle with chopped avocado and serve. Makes 4-6 servings.