This weekend, our weather took a dip in temperature and suddenly it felt very much like fall. I tried to fight saying goodbye to summer, but eventually I gave in… It helped that I got my boots out which have been hibernating over the summer. As much as I love summer here on the prairie, I think I love fall even more. In my kitchen, fall means the beginnings of soup season!
We are literally up in ears with sweet corn right now, so I decided to take advantage of the cooler weather. And the corn. And make one of my favorite soups of all time, corn chowder. I think I say that about every soup. But what is even better than regular corn chowder… Is giving it a kick with some chiles.
I used fresh sweet corn cut off the cob, but you can use frozen or even canned corn in a pinch! I also used whatever chiles I had in the fridge, my chiles were a mixture of piquillos (think red jalapeno) and poblano peppers. Both of which are about a 3 on a scale of 1-5 for spiciness, so they aren’t burn your mouth spicy. I roasted the peppers over an open flame and then peeled them. This was cumbersome, next time I plan on chopping them and just sauteing them a little bit with the onion, until tender.
PrintSweet Corn Chile Chowder
a mildly spicy corn chowder
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 40
- Total Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups chiles, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 potatoes, peeled & diced
- 4 cups corn (this was about 5 cobs for me)
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup cream
- juice of 2 limes
- Optional: 2 – 3 tablespoons corn flour (mixed with 1/4 cup water)
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot on medium high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the onions and the celery, stir to coat with the butter. Add in the peppers. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes until the vegetables are softened and are beginning to brown.
- Add the garlic and cook for a minute more. Add the corn, potatoes, chicken stock, bay leaves, and seasoning.
- Increase heat and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until potatoes are cooked through (about 10-15 minutes).
- Once the potatoes are tender, remove the bay leaves from the pot. Either use an immersion blender to puree about a third of the soup. You can also remove 1/3 of the soup from the pot and use a standup blender.
- Add the cream to the soup. You can also add some corn flour mixed with water to help thicken, if desired. Add juice of two limes to soup. Stir to combine.
- Serve and enjoy.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
