Simple Corn Chowder
July 20, 2006
I often go to my local bookstore and sit in the cooking section, browsing for cookbooks that I covet for my shelf of cooking wonders. I usually attend these leisurely reading sessions with pen and paper so I can jot down the ingredients to recipes that my catch my eye, or multiple recipes for the same dish so I can compare the ingredients. Recently, thumbing through the pages of the Barefoot Contessa's many cookbooks, I found a very simple recipe for corn chowder. I insisted on modifying her recipe, however, because she always adds way too much fat (butter, bacon grease, and cream) to her recipes and I just think that grease swimming at the top of your soup bowl will only bring you pesadilla and indigestion throughout your sleepless belly-aching night. I have modified what was obviously a recipe to feed a football team, and I have embellished the recipe with some of my own typical recipe touches (read garlic and fresh herbs here). Feel free to alter the recipe with the "optional" ingredients listed here, or not at all. This recipe is not gluten free, nor is it lactose free, so if you are either/or, adjust with corn starch and try a plain soy milk.
You will need:
- 3 tbsp of butter
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, cut in half, then sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/4 c flour
- 5 c of vegetable or chicken stock
- 6 small boiling potatoes (I used golden potatoes)
- 10 ears of fresh corn, kernals off the cob, or use 1 pkg of frozen sweet summer corn
- 1/2 c of cream or half-and-half
- 2 sprigs or 1 tsp of thyme
- optional: in lieu of olive oil, cook 6 slices of bacon or pancetta until slighlty crispy. Chop up bacon and set aside, and use 3 tbsp of reserve bacon fat for soup (I know some of you are just wincing in pain and disgust, but hey, if you see what the Barefoot Contessa actually looks like, and you still want to follow her instructions on using ALL the reserve bacon fat, more power to you)
- optional: 1 tsp of turmeric
Step One: In a large stock pot, saute the onions and garlic in the fat (whatever fat you choose above) over medium-high heat. After 7 minutes, add the flour, pepper to taste, and optional turmeric. Stir this around so the flour becomes totally incorporated into the mix and thickens into a roux, (like a paste). This takes about 5-8 minutes, depending on how often you are stirring. Add the stock and quartered boiling potatoes. Let this boil for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
Step Two: Meanwhile, in a separate small pot, bring 4 c of water to a boil, then toss in the corn to blanche for 4 minutes. Drain immediately and add 1 c of this cooked corn to the stock pot with the potatoes and onions. Reserve the rest of the corn. Take the contents of the large stock pot and puree them in a blender. You may have to divide this up into two "trips" because the blender could overflow otherwise. Return the puree into the large stock pot and add reserved corn, and bacon if any. Pour in the cream and cook for another 5 minutes.
Serve soup with fresh thyme. Barefoot Contessa served her soup with large handfuls of sharp cheddar cheese, but I find this combination to be vile and only suggest it if you'd like to further clog your arteries. The soup as is (minus the bacon and cheese) is like velvet with the bits of corn contributing to the overall look of the soup. I left a couple of potatoes to the side and chopped them up for more texture. Feel free to experiment with this recipe, it is very basic and yearns for your creativity.
