Saturday, November 10, 2012

Summer Corn Chowder

It’s called summer corn chowder but…I don’t care that it’s November and this is themed for summer temperatures. It’s summer in New Zealand, right? So that counts.

Plus, I like corn. Growing up in Pennsylvania there was a season for corn which meant it was on our table every night. Every. Night. But I love it….never have tired of it. Just as I never tire of soup, no matter the season.



This can be adapted for vegetarians or vegan menus too…see my notes at the end of recipe.

Ok, the star of the show here...before it was violated by my dull edged knife.



Summer Corn Chowder
adapted from My Father’s Daughter

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 slices bacon, finely diced
2 medium shallots, peeled and finely diced
1/2 large yellow onion, peeled and finely diced
2 springs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
Kernels from 6 ears of fresh corn, cobs reserved
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups homemade chicken stock
1 cup milk
1 tablespoons minced fresh chives (optional)
1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon (optional)

This just looks pretty to me...so I am sharing it for it's visual appeal. Fresh thyme, a bay leaf and shallots. Pretty.



In a large soup pot melt the butter over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook it for 4 minutes, or until just beginning to brown. Toss in the shallots, onion, thyme and bay leaf and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add in the corn kernels, salt and pepper and stir everything together. Add the stock, milk, and corn cobs and bring the soup to a boil for 30 seconds. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Remove the cobs and ladle a scoop of soup in the blender until pureed. Return to the pot of soup and stir. Ladle portions into bowls and garnish with chives and tarragon.

Adaptions you could make: If want to make it a bit healthier, use slices of turkey bacon and low fat milk. If you want to make it vegan, use tofu bacon or textured vegetable protein bacon such as Morningstar and substitute cow milk for soy milk.

But me...I can't do without bacon.


14 comments:

  1. Love love corn chowder and this was it tempting me. The ideas of adding the cobs while it is cooking is brilliant; it must really add to the flavor.
    Rita

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  3. You're right, it is summer here in New Zealand (well, actually mid-spring, but that's close enough), and with corn season just a couple of months away I will definitely be making this :-)

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  4. I know it's called summer chowder but I could totally eat this right now :-)

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  5. Rita - adding cobs actually did enhance the flavor. Quite tasty.

    Sue, I was not sure if you could get corn this early. We seem to always have it in Florida but some times of year it's more expensive.

    CJ - I would certainly love to share a meal with you, this soup is comfort food...and healthy too.

    Thank you all for visiting!

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  7. Looks great.. Been on the lookout for a corn chowder recipe!! Thanks for reading my mind!

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  8. Saving this for next summer. Can't wait to try it! Looks delicious.

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  9. Thank you Sharon and Debra! It's easy, it's good...win-win.

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  10. I love corn too! This chowder would be perfect for me too Tina!

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