Sneha: In grad school, I was a regular frequenter of Au Bon Pain, easy enough to pick up a bagel or a soup on the way to class. While Panera Bread’s black bean soup is my all time bakery chain favorite, ABP’s Corn & Green Chile Bisque is a VERY close second. It is rich and creamy and the perfect blend of sweet corn with spices. As the temperatures have been dipping the last few weeks, I have repeatedly been craving that soup. I even looked up ABP locations but couldn’t find one close enough to warrant changing out of pajamas. So I set about to make my own – I couldn’t find their exact recipe online but they list their ingredients on their website so a pinch of this, a touch of that and we have our homemade bisque! 

I wanted a soup that was more hearty and could make a meal with just a salad, so it is definitely heavy on the corn – more so than the store version but I love it. With Thanksgiving coming up, this would make an excellent addition to your menu if you’re looking to get away from the regular Pumpkin or Butternut Squash soup – no offense to either! The soup comes together really quick, the longest step is really simmering it so you can leave it on and walk away! If you’re as in love with the ABP version as I am, I promise this won’t disappoint! 

Tips & Tricks

• I have tried the soup with both roasted and raw tomatillos – while they’re both good, the roasted version adds a smokiness that I think you can get with smoked paprika so I opted to skip that step in this recipe
• This soup freezes really well – we keep individual portions in our freezer, just let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving 
• While we made this soup on the stove, you can easily do this on a slow cooker – just sauté your onions and peppers first to get the caramelized flavor and then continue the steps in your slow cooker

Recipe Information

• Prep time: 20 minutes
• Cook time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 jalapeños / serranos diced
• 1 can green chiles
• 1/2 bell pepper diced (used red)
• 1/2 white onion diced
• 2 spoons crushed garlic
• 6 tomatillos diced
• 2 tomatoes diced
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 7 cups frozen corn
• 1 carton (32 oz) vegetable stock
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp paprika
• Salt/pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped (reserve some for garnish)
• 4-5 tbsp milk
• Lime juice 

Directions

1. Sauté onions and garlic in butter and some olive oil until soft and fragrant ~5-7 min
2. Add red bell pepper and green chiles and cook for an additional 2-3 min
3. Add tomatoes, tomatillos and tomato paste and cover and cook on medium heat for ~10 min till soft 
4. Add vegetable stock and cilantro and bring to boil
5. Once boiling, add 6 cups of corn and simmer for 45 min 
6. Turn off and let cool – use an immersion blender to blend to desired consistency
7. Turn on medium heat and add remaining one cup of corn and milk and bring to low boil for 5-10 min
8. Serve with lime juice and cilantro and if desired crispy tortilla chips