Corn Chowder

It is still warm here in the midwest, thankfully, but fall should arrive this week! I wanted to make a soup to celebrate the end of summer and corn was in abundance. I actually made this dish a few weeks ago and it was excellent. I love that the corn has a crunchy texture so it is not like creamed corn soup. When making the soup, you use the ears of corn in two ways. For part of the corn, you simply cut the kernels off the cob. The rest of the corn is grated on a box grater then scraped to get as much of the corn from the cob as possible. Like I said, I made this soup a few weeks ago and froze part of it. It thaws wells and still has a wonderful texture to it.

The next time I decide to make this, I do plan to add a little jalapeno to it for a little extra heat. So if you have corn to spare, try this wonderful soup. Enjoy!!

Corn Chowder
Printer friendly recipe
Source: America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Serves 6

Ingredients

10 ears corn, husks and silk removed
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 ounce bacon, (about 1 slice), minced
1 onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup 1% milk
1 pound red potatoes (about 3 medium), cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup half and half
2 tablespoons parsley
salt and pepper

Directions: 

Cut the kernels from 4 of the ears of corn into a bowl. In a separate bowl, grate the remaining 6 ears of corn over the large holes of a box grater. Using the back of a butter knife, scrape any remaining pulp from the cobs into the bowl with the grated corn.

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the bacon and cook until rendered and crisp, about 3 minutes. Stir in the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook until lightly browned, about 1 minute.

Slowly whisk in the broth and milk, scraping up and browned bits. Stir in the potatoes, bay leaf, and grated corn. Bring to a simmer, partially cover, and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Stir in the remaining corn kernels and half-and-half and continue to simmer gently until the corn kernels are tender yet still slightly crunchy, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Stir in the parsley, season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.