Corn & Seafood Chowder
I think soups are great any time of the year. This corn chowder may be served either hot or chilled, with our without the seafood. To make it a tasty vegetarian dish, omit the seafood and use vegetable broth rather than chicken broth. Easy to take chilled in a thermos for a summer picnic or a day at the beach.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter (14.25g)
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
- 2 tbsp minced shallots
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced
- 2 cups corn kernels (about 2 cobs of corn)
- 1 cup diced potatoes
- 4 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
- 1/2 cup diced red and yellow sweet peppers
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup fresh crab meat and/or shrimp meat (optional)
- sour cream for garnish
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Using a very sharp knife, slice the corn kernels from the cob, peel and dice the potatoes, peppers and shallots.
- In a 5 to 6 quart soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped shallots, garlic and pepper flakes. Sauté until the shallots are translucent and just starting to color.
- Add the chicken stock to the pot, along with 1 and 1/2 cups of the corn kernels and the diced potatoes. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes and corn are tender.
- Cool the soup a bit, then using a food processor, blender or wand blender, puree the mixture until it is smooth and creamy.
- Return the soup to the soup pot. Add the cream, chopped fresh tarragon, the diced red and yellow peppers and the remaining corn kernels. Heat the soup, add salt and pepper to taste and continue simmering for another 15 minutes. At this point the whole kernels of corn should be slightly cooked but still have nice crunch.
- Stir in the chunks of crab or shrimp and serve. (Omit for vegetarian chowder.)
- I like to save a bit of the seafood for the presentation. Ladle the soup into serving bowls, top with a dollop of sour cream, a bit of the crab or shrimp and a small spring of fresh tarragon. Soup may be served hot or chilled.