Roasted Native Corn Bisque with Crab and Avocado

(Editor”™s note:  Table Talk and Travel Talk columnist Jeremy Wayne recently visited The Blake Hotel in New Haven for an article in the Westchester and Fairfield County Business Journals Oct. 3 edition. Chef Brandan Dion of Hamilton Park at The Blake graciously answered Jeremy”™s request for a recipe with this take on an autumnal New England favorite:  )

Ingredients:

10 ears native sweet corn roasted and cut off cobb

1 bunch thin sliced leeks
1 cup thin sliced yellow onion
1⁄2 cup chopped celery

1⁄2 cup chopped carrots
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 tablespoon ancho chili powder
2 quarts vegetable or chicken broth

2 bay leaves
2 sprigs oregano

1 cup heavy cream

Kosher salt as needed
Ground black pepper as needed

Garnish:
8 ounces jumbo lump crab meat
1 or 2 ripe Hass avocados diced
1 bunch chives thinly sliced
Extra virgin olive oil as needed

Sea salt as needed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. While heating, prepare corn cobbs to be roasted in the husk. Trim the silks from the cobb and loosen corn husk. Place on baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove the husk and cut the corn off the cobb. (If you wish, save the cobbs and use them to make a broth for the soup in place of store-bought vegetable or chicken broth. Reserve the corn kernels for the soup.)
2. While corn is roasting, prepare all other ingredients and preheat stock or soup pot over medium-high heat.
3. Once the pot is hot, add in about 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (or unsalted butter) and sauté leeks until tender. (Some caramelizing is good.) Once tender, add in onions, garlic, carrots and celery. Continue to sauté and stir occasionally until onions are tender.
4. Add in ancho chili powder, oregano and bay leaves and cook for 1-2 minutes
5. Add in all other ingredients, except the heavy cream, and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked through.
6. Remove from the heat. While cooling, set up a blender to purée the soup. You will want to strain the soup after it has been puréed. Before puréeing, pour off 1 or 2 cups of broth and reserve.
7. Purée the soup well, strain and place back in a clean pot. Bring the soup to a simmer and add in the heavy cream. Adjust the consistency and seasoning of the soup as needed with the saved broth, salt and pepper.
8. In a small bowl, lightly mix the crab, diced avocado, olive oil, 1 tablespoon of chives, salt and pepper. Use this to garnish each bowl of soup. Pour soup into the bowl, place a small amount of crab and avocado in the center and garnish with fresh chives and a drizzle of olive oil.

Serves 8 to 10.