Author Notes
We have dear friends from Iowa who have a summer cabin near us in Lake Lure, NC. They arrived a few weeks ago with a bounty of sweet corn from the heartland of America. What to do with this generous gift? Turn it into corn chowder was my immediate answer. I devised a recipe that pulled as much of the corn goodness out of the ears of corn. I simmered the shorn cobs in the broth for a while to release their sweet milk before adding the rest of the ingredients. The results were delicious. The recipe is easily doubled if you find yourself lucky enough to score such a bounty. —lakelurelady
Ingredients
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3 tablespoons
Butter
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1
Onion, chopped
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1
Garlic clove, minced
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1
Red Bell Pepper, Chopped
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1
Jalapeno pepper, minced
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1/4 cup
Flour
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4 cups
Vegetable Broth
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6 to 7
Ears of Corn, kernels removed and reserved and a few cobs saved to flavor the stock
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3
Celery Stalks, chopped
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2
Carrots, chopped
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2
Medium Russet Potatoes, peeled and diced
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1 1/2 cups
Cream, 1/2 and 1/2, or Milk
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Several sprigs of thyme leaves
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Salt and Pepper to Taste
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4 to 6
Slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled for garnish
Directions
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Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, red pepper and garlic and cook until onion is soft. Add the flour and cook 2 minutes stirring frequently to slightly brown the flour. Add the vegetable broth and 4 of the reserved corn cobs and cook over low heat for 30 minutes, partially covered.
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Remove the cobs and add the celery, carrots, potatoes and corn kernels. Cook over low heat until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Add the cream, thyme and salt and pepper to taste and cook gently for another 15 minutes.
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Ladle into bowls and garnish with the bacon crumbles.
I have been a serious cook from the time I first took an introductory course in French Cooking from Irena Chalmers, a cookbook author and instructor at the CIA. My first love is French cooking but I also value the importance of fresh local ingredients. The freshest ingredients seasoned right and prepared with love will result in the perfect meal.
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