It took years for me to solve a culinary mystery, and a journey from the state of Veracruz in Mexico to Medford, Oregon.
In Jalapa, Veracruz, I often ate at a restaurant called La Sopa, a casual place with lunch specials that were not just cheap but very good. La Sopa is in the Callejon del Diamante, a narrow, steep alley lined with modest restaurants, coffee houses, galleries, shops and outdoor book displays.
One day, lunch started with a corn and zucchini soup in which floated golden red strands of--something.
"What is this?" I asked the waiter. "Corn silk," he replied. The soup was delicious and would be easy to copy at home, I thought. All I had to do was buy some fresh ears of corn and extract a little of the silk.
This did not work out. Fresh corn silk is pale and soft, not at all like the deeply colored stands that floated in La Sopa's soup. End of experiment.
Then, recently, I was shopping in El Gallo, a well-stocked Mexican market in Medford, Oregon. There, on the spice rack, was a little sack of exactly what I had seen in that Mexican soup--barbas de elote--sturdy strands of red corn silk.
As soon as I got home, I made the soup and put in a few strands--only a few for color, because the barbas are quite wiry.
Since then, I have seen them again, at a market in East Los Angeles.
It turns out that this is an herbal remedy, not a culinary seasoning. So barbas de elote are probably in botanicas and any place that Latino people shop for herbal medicines. I just hadn't known where to look.
Here is the soup. If you can't find barbas de elote, you can add parsley or cilantro at the end for color. Or sprinkle each serving with paprika.
CREMA DE CALABACITAS Y ELOTE
Creamy Zucchini-Corn Soup
1 ear corn
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 small clove garlic, chopped
Generous dash white pepper
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 pound zucchini, quartered lengthwise, then sliced crosswise into chunks
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 tablespoon barbas de elote, optional
1 large sprig thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Spray a stovetop grill with nonstick spray or oil it lightly. Heat over high heat. Place the ear of corn on the grill and roast until flecked with brown on all sides. Remove from the heat, cool, then slice off the kernels with a sharp knife.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add the pepper and flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
Stir in the broth, then add the zucchini. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the zucchini is very tender, about 12 minutes.
Cool the soup slightly, then puree in a blender or food processor or with a hand blender.
Return to the saucepan. Add the milk, cream, corn kernels, the barbas de elote, thyme sprig and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes, until the corn is cooked through. Remove the thyme sprig before serving.
Makes 4 servings.
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