Creamy Corn & Potato Soup with Cotija Cheese

Yesterday afternoon, I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner.  His response - surprise me.  A Skinnytaste recipe for Creamy Corn Soup with Queso Fresco and Cilantro had caught my eye, but I am not a huge fan of the cilantro, sour cream, chicken bouillon cube, or scallions called for in the recipe.  I eliminated those 4 ingredients, added sweet onion, whole milk, bacon and basil, changed up the potatoes and ingredient amounts, and this is what I ended up with.  It was pretty amazing!  

My whole family loved the soup, especially the garnish of bacon, basil, fresh corn, and Cotija cheese, which we had never tried before.  

Creamy Corn and Potato Soup with Cotija Cheese

Ingredients

1 T olive oil 

1/2 to 2/3 C sweet onion - chopped 

1 tsp minced garlic (2 cloves)

8 medium ears of fresh corn (corn cut off the cob) or three 10oz bags of organic frozen corn 

3 medium organic yukon gold potatoes (1 1/2 lbs) - peeled and chopped into small cubes

2 C  lowfat milk 

3 C whole milk

3 T fresh basil - chopped  

Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper - to taste

Cotija cheese - grated

10-12 pieces (12 oz) of cooked bacon - chopped/crumbled

Directions

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat.  Add the oil and onion, stirring occasionally until the onion begins to brown.  Add the garlic, and continue to stir for a minute or two.   After the garlic begins to brown, add the potatoes, milk, 2 packages of corn plus 1/2 cup from the third bag (or 3/4 of the fresh corn), and half of the basil. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the corn and potatoes are tender.  Stir occasionally.

Remove from heat, and purée the soup with a stick blender, leaving it just a little bit chunky.  Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Garnish each bowl of soup with Cotija cheese, the remaining corn and basil, and bacon.

Serves 6

Recipe Notes

I purchased my immersion/stick blender from amazon.  It has become one of my favorite kitchen appliances.  It's great for puréeing soups and making smoothies, and it is easy to clean up.  

Instead of cotija cheese, you could use crumbled queso fresco.  I purchased my cotija cheese at Whole Foods.

September 29, 2014 Update - I made this recipe today with Publix GreenWise Organic Sweet Corn from the freezer section, because I try to avoid genetically modified corn whenever possible.  The soup is just as good with this variety of frozen corn, which is nice and sweet.  

Linked to:  Gluten-Free & DIY Tuesday