Corn Chowder

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Summer is soup season if there's corn involved. In fact, Every Season is Soup Season is the cookbook I got the basis for this recipe from! (I highly recommend this book to any soup connoisseurs out there.)

I typically love frozen corn, but this recipe demands fresh cobs because we will use them to flavor the broth. The measurements here are very imprecise because soup is an art and not a science, so adjust however makes you happy.

Ingredients

  • 5 ears of corn, shucked
  • Vegetable broth (or any other kind of broth)
  • Bay leaf
  • ~1 tsp cumin
  • ~1 tsp black pepper
  • ~1 tbsp Vegetable bouillon (chicken works too)
  • ~1 tbsp Elote seasoning (buy it or make it)
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1 yellow or white onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 poblano pepper (or more), diced
  • 1 green bell pepper (or more), diced
  • 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 2 medium yukon gold potatoes or 1 large russet potato (or more), cubed
  • ~1/2 cup/120mL half and half or heavy cream
  • Lemon or lime juice, to taste
  • Green onions, sliced

Directions

  1. Put the corn cobs in a stock pot with enough broth to cover them (I needed about 1 and a half 960mL containers of broth). You may need to cut the cobs in half if your pot isn't big enough. Add a bay leaf, cumin, black pepper, vegetable bouillon, and elote seasoning. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on medium-low heat for at least 45 minutes.
  2. Remove the corn cobs from the pot and let them cool enough to handle. (Keep the broth warm and covered while you work.) Stand the cobs upright in a bowl and carefully cut the corn kernels off with a sharp knife.
  3. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is translucent, then add the poblano and bell peppers. Let the peppers cook until they're softened. Add the corn kernels and toss to combine.
  4. If there isn't enough butter to coat the vegetables, melt some more. Add the flour gradually, stirring constantly so it coats the vegetables. (You want there to be a layer of flour, but not clumps, which is why the butter is important.)
  5. Put all the vegetables into the broth along with the potatoes. Let simmer on medium-low heat for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are soft enough to pierce with a fork.
  6. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning as needed. Once you're satisfied, turn the heat off and stir in the half and half. Serve with lime juice and green onions as desired.

Notes

The corn can be cut off the cob before or after boiling the cobs. I left the corn on the cobs so the corn would get infused with some of the broth seasoning, but it was hot and messy cutting all the corn off after...

The original recipe calls for roasted poblanos. I did not think to buy roasted peppers at the farmer's market and have no desire to make them myself, but if you can obtain them, they're really good in this soup.