Hearty Quinoa and Corn Soup

Big bowl of party!

One of the awesome things about Soupruary is getting recommendations from friends for soups they’ve loved, or soups they’d love to try. The idea for tonight’s soup came from Ben Dudley, and since he’s an expert in Life Hacks I figured he knew his stuff.

Clearly a trustworthy guy, and he described the recipe he sent (linked below) as one of his signature dishes. Worth a try, right?

 
I’m happy to report we can all keep trusting Ben Dudley. This is a fun, quick, one-pot meal—definitely a meal, as it’s super filling. Plus, if you’re so inclined you can get real goobery and start talking about how connected you feel to the earth when you eat ancient grains, or whatever. (I don’t talk like that, but sometimes my brain talks to me that way if I don’t shush it quickly enough.)

I love the texture of quinoa almost as much as I loved how Penny on the ridiculous Happy Endings told her boyfriend that one of the things she hated about him was how he couldn’t pronounce it. Keen-wah. Let’s all just start spelling it that way and see if it catches on. I’M KEEN ON QUINOA (oooooof can’t help myself (and I can’t believe that’s not a staff t-shirt at Whole Foods)).

I can certainly see why this soup would become a staple in the ol’ repertoire. It’s a hefty, pretty crowd pleaser that eats like comfort food but is in actuality closer to health food, and it comes together in about 30 minutes. For a 30-minute dish, it has a surprising depth of flavor. That’s because you get to cheat and let the salsa do some heavy lifting on that front, so it’s important to use a salsa you really like. I would have not been lazy and made my own, but I ran home to make this soup on my lunch break so I didn’t really have time. Man, 

I’m such a disappointment.

I had some guinea pigs tonight. Abi, Cybelle and I ate this for dinner tonight before going to see Freud’s Last Session at the Ensemble Theatre Company—which was a fairly heavy and thought-provoking imagining of how a conversation between Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis in 1939 might have gone down.  We all did a pretty admirable job of finishing every bite, which was important as it’s a pretty small theatre—wouldn’t want growling tummies to get in the way of the acting. Unfortunately, THREE SEPARATE PEOPLE in the audience decided they didn’t need to turn off their cell phones, so I guess we needn’t have been so considerate after all. It’s 2013, right? Cool.

Anyway, back to the soup.

The stuff I chose to put on top —grape tomatoes, baby shrimp, the most beautiful avocado ever, feta—was just what sounded good to me tonight, but I think you could put any number of things on here. Does it sound like it be good in a taco? Why not put it on this soup instead? I would have liked some thinly sliced radish on here, for instance. In the summer, I’d love to try some fresh corn that I char on the grill for a bit before cutting it off the cob—just to add a little smokiness. 

Don’t skip the lime or the avocado, for sure, but other than that go crazy. Or just have it with lime and avocado: Probably just as good. When the avocado gets that heat from the soup it turns meltier and creamier and it’s just the most decadent thing (my mouth just started watering while typing that, even though I’m still full from eating 3 hours ago). 

What it looks like all stirred up.

 But seriously, look at the ingredient list down there. Dude, you totally like all those things. You’re making this for dinner, right? Yeah, you’re definitely making this for dinner. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.

Quinoa and Corn Soup
adapted from Cheap Healthy Good's recipe
serves 4

 GET THIS STUFF

1 T grapeseed oil (or whatever you want)
1 jalapeño, diced (seeded if you don’t like things spicy)
½ red onion, diced
½ red bell pepper, diced
1 stick celery, diced
5 c vegetable broth
1 c quinoa, rinsed
1 c frozen corn
½ c salsa
½ c grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
½ c cooked wee baby shrimpies
1 avocado, cut into bite-size chunks
feta cheese, crumbled
cilantro
lime wedges

DO THIS WITH IT

Heat oil over medium in your pot, then add jalapeño, onion, bell pepper and celery and cook for about 8 minutes (until vegetables are softened but not browning).
Add vegetable broth and quinoa and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add corn and salsa and cook until heated through.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve, ladle into bowls and top each with some grape tomatoes, shrimp, avocado, feta and cilantro. Stick a lime wedge on each bowl—the juice squeezed in really livens it up.

Abi's pretty river view at dusk.