Garden Sweet Corn Chowder with Chives
Creamy without a drop of cream
- Soups & Stews
- Main Dish
- American (New England)
- one pot
- meatless
- make ahead
Sweet corn, potato and onion are simmered in their own starch and blended just enough to turn creamy. No cream needed, and the flavour of heirloom corn comes through unmasked.
Photo: tomatoes and friends · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons · all image credits
Ingredients
- 6 ears sweet corn, husked (cobs reserved)
- 4 cups water or light vegetable stock
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 2 shallots, minced
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1 pound (450 g) yellow potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch dice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white or black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives, to serve
Equipment
- Heavy 5-quart Dutch oven
- Wooden spoon
- Blender or immersion blender
- Fine-mesh strainer
Why this recipe works
Chowder is the New England answer to a glut of late-summer vegetables, and it was never a cream dish in its earliest form. Our version follows the older method: simmer corn cobs in the pot to extract their milk, thicken with potato and puree a portion of the soup. The result is velvet without richness.
Because the soup leans on the corn itself, the variety you use matters more here than in almost any other recipe. A sweet, tender heirloom corn makes a chowder that tastes of the garden; a starchy feed corn makes a heartier, more rustic bowl.
Heirloom varieties to look for
Country Gentleman (shoep Peg), Stowell's Evergreen and Golden Bantam are the classic chowder corns; their kernels are tender with a high sugar-to-starch ratio. Black Aztec or Painted Mountain make a deeper, more savoury chowder.
Method
Milk the cobs
Stand each cob in a wide bowl and slice off the kernels with a sharp knife. Put the stripped cobs and the water in the Dutch oven and bring to a simmer while you prep the vegetables; the cobs will release their sweet starch into the liquid.
Sweat the aromatics
Melt the butter in a second heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, shallots and a pinch of salt, cover, and cook for 8 minutes until soft and translucent without browning. Add the garlic, thyme and bay leaf and cook 1 minute more.
Add potato and broth
Fish the corn cobs out of the broth with tongs and discard them. Pour the broth over the aromatics, add the potatoes, salt, pepper and smoked paprika, and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes until the potatoes are completely tender.
Add the corn
Stir in the corn kernels and simmer for just 5 minutes. Corn needs very little cooking once the kernels are off the cob, and keeping it brief preserves its perfume.
Blend half
Remove the bay leaf. Puree about half the soup in a blender, or pulse with an immersion blender for 10 seconds, leaving plenty of whole kernels and potato cubes for texture. Return the puree to the pot.
Adjust and serve
Simmer 3 minutes more to bring everything together, then taste for salt and pepper. Ladle into warm bowls and shower generously with chives. A drizzle of chive oil or a swirl of plain yogurt is welcome but not required.
Cook's notes
- Reserve a cup of the kernels and char them in a dry skillet for a smoky garnish.
- If the chowder is thicker than you like, thin it with a little more broth, not water; the broth carries the corn flavour.
- White pepper keeps the soup golden. Black pepper is equally good but leaves flecks.
Variations
- Add 1 cup of cooked heirloom shell beans or 1 cup of fresh lima beans with the potato.
- Cook 4 ounces of diced bacon or smoked tempeh first and use the fat for the aromatics.
- Stir in 1 cup of chopped chard or kale in the last 3 minutes for a greener pot.
Storage
Refrigerate for up to 4 days, in a wide-mouth jar for easy reheating. Freeze for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat gently and finish with fresh herbs.
How to serve it
About 1 1/3 cups per serving. Serve it within the time noted above for the best texture, because heirloom produce is far less forgiving than supermarket vegetables.
