Raw Sweet Corn and Cashew Chowder

I have multiple vegetarian cookbooks and a couple of raw foods books as well. In principle, I want to be a vegetarian but in practice, I just can't make the break from animal protein. I crave protein pretty much constantly--not necessarily red meat (although I do love my lamb and ground bison) but especially turkey and any kind of fish. I can go a few meals, sometimes even a few days not eating "meat" but the siren always lures me back. That being said, I appreciate my grains and vegetables and love the variety of recipes my veggie cookbooks offer. Hawaii being pretty warm most of the time, makes the idea of raw foods appealing, although sometimes the amount of preparation and ingredients required to make raw food make it a little daunting. I am always on the lookout for raw food recipes and ideas for easy, good food. June's Food & Wine Magazine had some recipes from Ani Phyo, author of Ani's Raw Food Kitchen, and this one for Raw Sweet Corn and Cashew Chowder caught my eye. It seemed like an easy, healthy, warm weather, "Welcome Summer!" kind of dish and when I saw fresh, local Kahuku corn at the Farmer's Market, I knew I had to try it.

Raw Sweet Corn and Cashew Chowder

from Ani Phyo, Food & Wine Magazine, June 2008

15 minutes, 4 servings

3 1/4 cups fresh yellow corn kernels (from 4 large ears)

2 cups water

1/2 cup raw cashews

6 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 small garlic clove

2 tsp Kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp chopped cilantro leaves

Freshly ground pepper

In a blender, combine 2 1/4 cups of the corn with the water, cashews, olive oil, garlic and salt and puree until smooth. Pour the soup into bowls. Garnish with the remaining 1 cup of corn kernels, the cilantro and a sprinkle of pepper, then serve.

Make Ahead: The corn chowder can be refrigerated overnight.

One Serving: 402 cal, 31 gm fat, 4.6 gm sat fat, 30 gm carbs, 4 gm fiber

The soup was good, tasting very fresh, sweet and clean. I think I would up the amount of corn and reduce the amount of water a bit when making it again as it seemed a little thin to me. I also liked it more once it had chilled in the refrigerator a bit--I like my cold soups cold. I could see making this for a summer dinner party and serving it in small juice glasses or even shot glasses as it feels fairly rich and a little goes a long way.