A Muse in My Kitchen
Cheddar Corn Chowder
We are in the height of corn season here. We can’t get enough of it – or so my Hubby thinks! Every time I send him to the farmer’s market for corn – he comes home with the twice the amount I ask for!
“Honey, we need six ears of corn.” He comes home with twelve.
“Honey, we need a dozen ears of corn.” He comes home with two dozen.
I know we want to capture the seasonal bounty but come on! This weekend was finally a rainy one – a perfect day for making soup and using up all the corn that is piled in my refrigerator. This recipe is different than the Lobster Corn Chowder recipe I did last year in that there is no seafood in this recipe.
This recipe has an interesting flavor with turmeric being one of the spices. The turmeric not only enhances the flavor of the sweet corn but adds a nice yellow color to the chowder.
The original recipe is from Ina Garten but I ended up spicing it up a bit more with additional spices and fresh herbs.
Much better than the original recipe that I thought was a tad bland.
It’s easy to put together, it’s full of fresh corn, chunks of little red potatoes topped with crispy bacon.
A bowl of corn chowder with a side of crusty bread….what else do you need on a rainy day?
Here’s some of my other corn recipes:
- 8 ounces bacon, chopped
- 1 tbs. olive oil
- 2 chopped yellow onions
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbs. unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tbs. chili powder
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 3 cups medium diced red potatoes with skin on
- corn kernels from 6 ears fresh corn
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 small can chopped green chiles
- 1 cups half-and-half
- ¼ pound sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
- In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes.
- Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Remove the bulk of the bacon fat from pot, leaving enough to saute onions and garlic.
- Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions, garlic and butter to the fat, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.
- Add red peppers half way through sauteing.
- Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin and chili powder and cook for 3 minutes.
- Cut the kernels off the corn cobs and microwave for 3 minutes in microwave.
- Add the chicken stock, corn, potatoes, green chiles and thyme, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
- Add the half-and-half and cheddar.
- Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted.
- Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
- Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.
