Roasted Corn & Vegetable Soup

It was a beautiful evening. I felt like walking and walking and walking and walking. Pratik and I recently found out about this trail, less than a mile from home! For approximately 3 miles it runs through a dense wooded patch and the rest continues through open corn fields. On one side is a small fishing pond which is equally calm to sit at. This past weekend, we walked hand in hand through these tranquil woods and corn fields. This was probably one of the most relaxing weekend walks we have had in a long time.

Coming back from the walk, we just decided to spend the rest of the evening in our backyard, grilling some sweet corn. And dinner simply turned into a delicious feast, yet another quick barbecue between the two of us. The sweet corn on the cob, chunky burgers topped with sharp cheddar cheese bought fresh from the farm market that morning, and our favorite freshly baked bread were the stars of the evening. The added zing was this roasted corn and vegetable soup which I had attempted the previous evening. I have to admit that this was also one of the recipes which just turned out superb inspite of not following any fixed proportions. Just a handful of this and a fistful of that worked really well!

Ingredients:
2 sweet corn
3-4 different varieties of sweet and hot pepper
1 inch hot paprika
2 medium carrots
2-3 different varieties of zucchini
3/4 pint cherry tomatoes
1-2 cups of water or vegetable stock
2 cloves of garlic
1tbs chopped cilantro

Method:
1. Arrange the tomatoes closely on skewers. Brush with some olive oil.
2. Cut the vegetables lengthwise in to strips of medium thickness. Brush with some olive oil.
3. Arrange all the vegetables, tomatoes and corn on the grill. Roast on all sides until grill marks appear.
4. Remove from the grill and let cool completely. Remove the kernels of corn.
5. Blend through a food processor with some garlic & paparika. Leave some kernels of corn as is if you wish and add them while you simmer the soup.
6. Add water up to desired consistency to this mixture and simmer for 15-20 minutes in a soup pot. Add salt and pepper as per taste.

Serving:
Serve hot with some crusty Parmesan cheese bread or any baguette toasted with cheese. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro on top.

Note: If you desire, you can roast the garlic too. Just keep a close eye if you decide to do this because nothing as bad as the taste of burnt garlic.