The Best Corn Soup

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  I LOVE THIS SOUP.   There is no cream in sight, but it sure tastes rich and creamy.
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• If you love corn, then this soup is for you.   
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• Good eaten warm or chilled.  
• Feel free to add in some grilled shrimp or scallops.   It's the best corn soup I have had to date.  
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• From Jen's site Once Upon a Chef:
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• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 large shallots, chopped
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth, best quality
• 6 ears fresh YELLOW corn 
• 1-1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•  chopped fresh basil, for garnish

• Remove the husks and silks from the corn. Set one ear of corn aside to garnish the soup with. 
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• Use a knife to cut the kernels off of the remaining 5 cobs, then break the scraped cobs in half.
• Set aside.
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1. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent,  about 5 minutes. 
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3. Add the chicken stock, corn kernels, broken cobs, whole ear of corn, salt and pepper to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook uncovered for 10 minutes. 
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5. Discard the cobs (they are only used to flavor the stock).
6. Off the heat, use a hand held immersion blender to purée the soup until very smooth. 
7. It will take a few minutes. 
8.  Place a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl and pass the soup through (this is important, otherwise you will get the little kernel skins in your teeth, trust me), using a back of a ladle to push the soup through in circular motions. Discard the fibers and bits of kernels in the sieve, it's a bit tedious, but don't skip this step. 
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10. Return the strained soup to a clean pot. It should have a creamy consistency. 
11. Remove the kernels from the last ear of corn and garnish the soup with the fresh corn and basil.  Taste and adjust seasonings.
12. You can also use thyme, if that's your thing, but basil is better.  ;). 
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14. My photos don't do this soup justice!!!