Corn and Bacon Soup with Jalapeño Crema

• Recipe by Wolfgang Puck

“In the summer, we get great corn from Chino Farms [in Rancho Santa Fe, California]; it’s really delicious,” says Wolfgang Puck. He uses both creamy grated corn and sautéed kernels to make this satisfying soup, which he serves with a chile-spiked cream. “My young son Oliver loves the sweetness of the corn soup,” Puck continues. “But I don’t give him any jalapeño crema.”

Ingredients

1. 10 medium ears of corn, shucked
2. 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3. 2 ounces lean bacon, finely diced (1/2 cup)
4. 1 celery rib, finely diced
5. 1/2 cup finely diced onion
6. 1/2 cup finely diced yellow bell pepper
7. 3 cups whole milk
8. 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
9. Kosher salt
10. Pinch of cayenne pepper
11. 1/4 cup sour cream
12. 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
13. 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus cilantro leaves, for garnish
14. 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
15. Freshly ground white pepper

Directions

1. Set a box grater in a wide, shallow bowl and coarsely grate 6 ears of corn; you should have 2 cups of grated corn. Cut the kernels from the remaining 4 ears; you should have 2 cups of kernels.
2. In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the bacon, celery, onion and yellow pepper, cover and cook over low heat, stirring a few times, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the grated corn, the milk and 1 cup of the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer, stirring often, until the soup is thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and the cayenne pepper and keep warm.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil until shimmering. Add the corn kernels to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat, stirring a few times, until they are lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Season with salt. Stir the cooked corn kernels into the soup and keep warm.
4. In a blender, whip the remaining » cup of heavy cream to soft peaks, about 20 seconds. Add the sour cream, jalapeño, chopped cilantro and lemon juice and blend until thick. Season with salt and white pepper.
5. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with spoonfuls of jalapeño crema and cilantro leaves and serve at once.

Make Ahead

The soup can be refrigerated overnight; reheat gently. The jalapeño crema can be refrigerated for 4 hours.