Corn Chowder - A Joy of Late Summer

Corn chowder is a labor of love.  Especially this one, from Jannequin Bennet's "Very Vegetarian."  (Here's the recipe, courtesy of Google Books.)  Lots of chopping and dish-washing is required, but the result is an awesome soup.  Perfect with some crusty bread, or a nice gooey grilled cheese sandwich (I like a mix of Jarlsberg and Fontina - try it with a little pesto!).

The author notes:

This colorful soup highlights the bounty of late summer, when corn is plentiful, peppers are fully rip, the potato harvest is beginning, and the nights have begun to have a little chill to them.

It is indeed colorful, and a life-saver to those of us struggling to find ways to cook all those CSA vegetables.  I used these vegetables gleaned from CSA and farmer's market:

• Yukon gold potatoes - Recipe calls for red skin potatoes, but either works fine.  Do cook them separately though.
• Garlic
• Onion
• Bell peppers - Generally, I use all green peppers, since the colorful ones are hard to find locally grown
• Fresh white corn, about 4 ears, removed from cob - Fresh corn is a must for this soup. Frozen is OK in the dead of winter, but do not use canned corn for this.
• Tomatoes, diced (optional garnish)

Other items used:

• Carrots
• Celery
• Fresh cilantro
• Oil - recipes calls for vegan margarine, but I am just not a fan of margarine of any type (butter or nothing, baby!)
• Spices: cumin, dark chili powder, cayenne - Tip: use twice the cayenne for a little more heat.  This is a pretty bland soup otherwise.
• Flour
• Vegetable stock - Store-bought is fine, or chicken stock, if you aren't concerned about keeping it vegetarian (vegan, really).
• Salt
• White pepper (or black, if you don't mind the specks)

 

To make life easier, here are a few tips if you try this:

• Use a large pot.  The one above is 8 quarts, I think.
• First, chop the potatoes, and start boiling them separately.
• Then, chop the onions, carrots, celery and garlic.  Get those on the heat.
• Next chop the peppers.
• Saute the peppers separately.  This takes about 10 minutes.  If the peppers and potatoes finish before they need to go in the soup, just set them aside. They'll warm up at the end.
• While cooking the peppers, remove corn from the cob and chop the cilantro.
• Stage the spices and flour next to the stove, so you don't forget to add them at the right time (I forgot to add the spices until the end this time, and the soup had less depth of flavor).

This soup freezes beautifully for a taste of summer well into fall.

I imagine every vegetarian has been asked, "What do you eat?  Don't you feel deprived?"  Thanks to meals like this one, nope, not a bit.