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By Christie Vanover | Published July 9, 2011 | Last Updated December 28, 2022

I embarked on my second Zestuous Challenge, where I asked my facebook fans to pick the ingredients. Marybeth was first to respond with corn as the vegetable, followed by Wendy who chose cheese as the protein and Benton who selected sweet potato as the starch. Wendy suggested I make a soup.

So the journey began. I recently made a corn bisque, so I didn’t want to go that route again. It’s 100 degrees here in Texas, and I wanted something a little lighter, so I decided to capitalize on the corn’s milky juice.

This was a fun challenge because I got to use a lot of my kitchen tools. You could use frozen corn, but corn was only 15 cents per cob today, so I went with the fresh corn and cut off the kernels with my new Pampered Chef Kernel Cutter. Then, I put the kernels through the juicer. Because they’re so tiny, not much juice came out, so I took the pulp out and re-juiced it twice (for a total of three times).

Next, it was time for the sweet potatoes. I peeled them, and passed them through the juicer (on high speed). The juice was so vibrant.

Even more amazing though was the pulp. It felt like a beautiful bread dough. I was so excited with this discovery; I had to use it. Now, my mind was trying to create two new recipes at once ~ a soup and Sweet Potato Cheese Crackers.

I’ll post that recipe later. Let’s get back to today’s challenge. Once I had the corn and sweet potato juices, I mixed a tablespoon of each together, and tasted it over and over to see how I could turn this sweet concoction into a savory soup.

I originally was going to go with a goat cheese, but after tasting the sweetness, I realized that a salty Parmigiano Reggiano would balance the flavors nicely.

I was planning to prepare a clean broth at first, but I changed my mind and decided to add a little texture to the dish. When I eat soup, I prefer for my ingredients to be all the same size, so I diced the sweet potato so it was approximately the size of corn kernels.

I cooked them slightly with the heat of a fresh pepper from my garden. You can omit the heat or choose a chili that is more mild or use powdered cayenne. We all have different spice preferences, but I do recommend you add a little spice.

I had confirmation that today’s challenge was a success when my husband went back for seconds and finished the pot. Thanks again to everyone who helped me with this Zestuous Challenge. If you want to be part of the next one, stay tuned to www.facebook.com/zestuous for the challenge announcement.

Rules for the Zestuous Challenge ~ When I announce the challenge on Facebook, fans need to post one protein, one fruit/vegetable or one starch. Then, they need to select the course: appetizer, soup, salad, entrée, bread or dessert. The first post in each category will be selected, and each person can only post once. And while it’s tempting to throw me a total curveball, like an anchovy dessert, hopefully, you’ll select items that we’d all like to eat.

Bon appétit!

Parmigiano Reggiano Sweet Potato Corn Soup

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Ingredients

4 sweet potatoes
7 ears of corn 4 ½ cups of kernels
1 tablespoon butter
1 tsp. minced fresh banana pepper
¼ cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
½ tsp. kosher salt
½ tsp. Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning

Instructions

Peel the sweet potatoes. Pass three through the juicer, so that you have one cup of sweet potato juice.
Cut the corn from the cobs. Juice 4 cups of kernels three times, so you have one cup of corn juice.
Dice the remaining sweet potato so that it is the size of corn kernels. Measure ½ cup and set aside.
In a saucepan, melt butter. Add the diced pepper and sauté, until tender. Add the diced sweet potato and cook for about 2 minutes. Do not overcook or your soup will become mushy.
Add the sweet potato juice, corn juice and cheese to the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add ½ cup of corn kernels, salt and Tony’s. Allow to simmer for a couple of minutes and serve.