Description

The perfect recipe to use up end-of-summer sweet corn in a way that will keep you warm on cold fall nights. Packed with sweet, crunchy corn, potatoes, and a thick, creamy broth this corn chowder is a seasonal favorite.

Ingredients

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1 tablespoon avocado oil, or grapeseed oil
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup (1 stick), unsalted butter
1/2 cup fine stone ground cornmeal
1/2 cup dry white wine (such as a chardonnay )
3 cups low sodium chicken broth, or vegetable broth
2 cups milk (I used 2% skim milk)
4 to 6 ears sweet corn, kernels cut off corn (4 cups kernels total) – reserve corn cobs
1/2 pound (1 cup), yokun gold potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 red bell pepper, chopped

optional garnishes:

chopped parsley
extra reserved sweet corn kernels

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Instructions

Prepare: Cut all your veggies according to the directions above. Make sure to reserve the corn cobs once the corn kernels have been cut off. This soup moves fast, so it’s helpful to have everything ready to go.
Sauté: Heat a large Dutch oven, or soup pot, over medium low heat. Add the oil. Once the oil is heated add the chopped onion, and celery, sprinkle with a bit of salt to help the onion release it’s liquid. Sauté for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the veggies are tender and a bit translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds.
Make the roux: Add the butter, once melted add the cornmeal, stirring constantly for 3 minutes, or until the raw flour smell has been cooked out.
Deglaze: Add the wine and deglaze the bottom of the pot using a wooden spoon to scrape up any cooked on bits.
Simmer: Stir in the chicken or vegetable broth, along with the milk. Add the reserved ears of corn (with the kernels already removed). If needed, you can brake the corn cobs in half to fit in your pot. Cover, and bring to a simmer. Simmer covered, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
Cook the remaining veggies: Once the soup has simmered for 10 minutes, stir in the corn kernels, the potatoes, salt, pepper, and the chopped red pepper. Bring the soup back to a simmer, cover and allow it to simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.
Finish: Remove the corn cobs, using tongs, and discard. The soup should have thickened up nicely by now. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. I usually find I need to add an additional 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Serve: To serve garnish with chopped parsley, and any extra corn kernels, if desired. I like to serve this soup as a side dish to whatever kind of protein we are having that evening.
Leftovers: Leftovers keep nicely for up to 1 to 2 weeks when stored in the fridge in an air tight container.

Notes

Wine: The alcohol from the wine cooks off completely, leaving behind the flavor, so it is safe for kids. However, if you want to omit the wine then just sub extra chicken broth, or vegetable broth.

Vegetarian: to make this recipe vegetarian use vegetable broth.

Can you use frozen corn instead of fresh corn in this recipe? Yes, if you are okay with mushy, more tender corn in your chowder, and less fresh corn flavor. A lot of that corn flavor comes from the corn cobs that simmer in the broth, so for the BEST of the BEST tasting corn chowder, I highly recommend sticking with fresh corn, especially when in season.