Corn & Black Bean Soup with Spinach & Feta Biscuits

Delicious cilantro. Love hate though, really

Because I live in a temperate area of the globe, much of the “height” of summer produce doesn’t arrive here until quite late in the season. Last week at the farmer’s market, we scored some super fresh ears of corn. We’re talking mere hours after they’d been picked. I didn’t have them on my shopping list, but I had to have them. There is nothing like the sweet, crisp flavour of freshly picked corn.

When I was a kid, my parents grew bicolour corn in our small garden. My mother was adamant that the corn be picked no sooner then when the pot of water began to boil. If it was picked any earlier than that, the corn would quickly begin to lose sugar, a process I like to call starchification (FYI, not a real word). This is technically not true nowadays, though. Corn hybridization has made the sugars in some varieties of corn very high. In the industry, the higher sugar varieties are known as Sugary Extender (se) and Supersweet (sh2), which includes the infamous Peaches & Cream and my favourite, Honey ‘N Pearl. These varieties can be stored from as little as 2 days to as much as 10 days.

I still prefer to eat it as soon as I can get my hot little hands on it, or cook it and freeze for a later date, which is exactly what I did for this recipe. Obviously, frozen corn is cheap and abundant, so this soup could be made all year round. I’m a bit of a food snob though, and prefer my produce fresh (or frozen at the peak of freshness) and eaten as soon as possible.

Corn, frozen at the peak of perfection

As the summer draws to a close (tomorrow September 22 at 5:18 pm EDT!), I’d like to leave you with this final taste of those warm summer nights. But as the end of summer and the beginning of fall are the same day, I’m celebrating with a little bit of both. A light, summery soup served with some hot from the oven biscuits, perfect for cold fall evenings! They pair beautifully together, and these biscuits are versatile enough for any soup.

Delicious cilantro. Love hate though, really

Corn & Black Bean Soup with Spinach & Feta Biscuits

1 Large Vidalia Onion (or other sweet onion)
3 cobs of sweet corn (cooked and kernels removed, which is about 4 cups of corn)
1 red pepper, chopped
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 19oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
4 key limes, juiced (or 1 regular lime)
1 L sodium reduced chicken broth (or homemade)
1 avocado, diced

Delicious cilantro. Love hate though, really

1. Sauté onions, garlic and red pepper in canola oil until browned (you want that caramelization for flavour.) Add cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.
2. Add beans & corn. Continue to sauté for another 5 minutes.
3. Add stock, bring to boil. Reduce to simmer. Add lime juice.
4. Add cilantro and stir in, removing from heat.
5. Serve with avocado and biscuits (recipe follows).

Hot Corn & Black Bean soup, ready to eat

Delicious cilantro. Love hate though, really

Spinach & Feta Biscuits

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
Fresh cracked black pepper (to taste)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
175g feta cheese, crumbled
200 g spinach, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh basil, minced very fine
3 stalks green onion, chopped

1. In a large sauté pan, sauté spinach, garlic and green onions until softened. Add basil at very end and remove from heat.
2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl.
3. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender.
4. Combine the buttermilk, oil and egg in a separate bowl. Whisk together until completely combined.
5. Combine the milk/egg mix with the flour. Gently, stir in the spinach mixture, feta cheese and pepper.
6. Spoon into greased muffin tin (should make an equal dozen).
7. Bake at 375°F for 22- 25 minutes.
8. Serve warm with your delicious soup.

Hot Corn & Black Bean soup, ready to eat

30 thoughts on “Corn & Black Bean Soup with Spinach & Feta Biscuits”

  4. Mr. Guilty

    Another winner! Nothing like soup after a long day at work. The biscuits were really good. We ended up finishing them off the next day first thing in the morning.. mmmm

    Reply
  13. Mary

    Oh scrumptious! I love a warm soup on a cold day…and we got our first snow today. It lasted all of 5 minutes, but absolutely perfect for something like corn and black bean soup!! Looks fabulous.

    And thanks for the thumbs on the HealthyYum photo. Looking at your photos, that’s truly a compliment!
    .-= Mary´s last blog ..Breaking 100 =-.

    Reply
    1. admin

      Snow already??! Crazy talk…I can’t wait!

      I loved your eggplant pics, and you have some amazing photos too lady. Don’t be so humble!

      Reply
  14. Nadiaidan

    Sounds… just… perfect! You’re getting pretty darned good at solving my food dilemmas – this week, a craving for a healthy soup I can savour for a couple days at work – though I doubt hubby will save me any!

    Reply
  18. Delilah

    The recipe looks delicious but is a bit of a mess. Several steps have been left out in the soup recipe (like when to add the lime and spices) and the bicuit recipe ingredients call for baking POWDER but the recipe directions say baking SODA. Fortunately I was able to make the adjustments while cooking and baking to get things right (I hope).

    Reply
    1. admin

      Oh no! I hate when that happens. It must have been a late night when I was writing that out. I have fixed the recipe now. I hope everything turns out for you!

      Reply

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