Milky Yellow Corn Soup with Roasted Tomatoes

I love this soup so much that I made two batches of it in three days. It's a light, sweet and milky corn soup made with fresh corn kernels, blended and passed through a sieve to achieve that smooth silky consistency. The recipe for this comes from an episode of Take Home Chef, where the soup was served with roasted grape tomatoes with garlic. I do find that the tomatoes are not really necessary, and just a sprinkling of black pepper and chilli flakes is sufficient to complement the natural sweetness from the corn.

Yellow Corn Soup with Roasted Tomatoes
Adapted from Take Home Chef

Ingredients
10 grape tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
2 garlic cloves, peeled, very thinly sliced on a Japanese mandolin
1 teaspoon/5 ml plus 1 tablespoon/15 ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
A few sprigs of thyme (optional)
4 ears of yellow corn, kernels cut from cob
5 cups reduced-salt chicken stock
3/4 cup/175 ml heavy whipping cream
Chilli flakes (optional)

Method:
Position the rack 4 inches/10 cm below the heat source of the broiler and preheat the broiler to low heat. Place the tomatoes cut side up on a heavy baking sheet and place 1 slice of garlic on each tomato half. Drizzle the tomatoes with 1 teaspoon/5 ml of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Broil for about 7 minutes or until the tomatoes soften and the garlic is golden brown. Remove the tomatoes from the broiler and set aside in a warm place while you prepare the soup.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon/15 ml of oil and butter in a heavy-based, medium-sized pot over a medium-to-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 4 minutes or until tender. Add the corn kernels, thyme leaves and chicken stock. Bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to a medium-to-low. Cover and simmer gently for 20-30 minutes or until the corn is tender. Remove the pot from the heat and cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Working in batches, transfer the soup to a blender and blitz until smooth. Alternatively, use a stick blender.

Using a large sieve, strain the soup back into the pot and bring back to a boil. Stir in the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper. Return the soup to a gentle simmer, then ladle into 4 serving bowls. Garnish with the tomatoes and chilli flakes if desired, and serve hot.