Seasonal: Sweet Corn and Poblano Chowder

The weather may be warm, but the corn is too amazing this time of year to miss out on making a corn chowder. Our version uses half-and-half in lieu of heavy cream to lighten it up a little bit, and the poblanos provide a nice heat. After chopping and adding one, check the heat level; poblanos vary in temperature, so you don’t want to let this get too spicy. The sweetness of the corn will temper things nicely, though, so if it seems too spicy at first, don’t worry…it’ll mellow out.

Sweet Corn and Poblano Chowder

• 2 tablespoons butter
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium white diced onion
• 1-2 Poblano peppers, seeded and chopped
• 2 minced cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 cups vegetable stock
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 2 potatoes, cleaned, peeled, and diced
• 3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 6 ears corn
• Salt and pepper
• Parsley to garnish

Directions:

Saute the onion, garlic, and poblano peppers in the butter and olive oil until all vegetables are soft and onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Dust the sauteed vegetables with the flour and toss or stir to coat. Add vegetable stock, and bring to a boil. Add the half-and-half, potatoes, and crumbled bacon, reserving 2 tablespoons. Bring to a hard boil, and let the potatoes get beaten up. As they break down, they will thicken the soup even further. Cut kernels off the corn, saving as much of the “milk” that comes off the cob as possible. This will impart a very rich, strong corn flavor. Add kernels and milk to the soup. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer until the corn is soft, another 10 minutes.

Heat the butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme and cook until the vegetables are good and soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Dust the vegetables with flour and stir to coat everything well. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add the cream and the potatoes, bring to a boil and boil hard for about 7 minutes, until the potatoes break down (this will help to thicken the soup and give it a good texture). Ladle the soup into bowls, and garnish with sprig of parsley and reserved crumbled bacon and serve.

Tagged as: chowder, corn, poblano

About the Author: Malcolm Bedell

My first memories of cooking start in Maine at six years old, when I wore a yellow rainslicker to avoid getting spattered by the bacon I was frying in a skillet. My interest in both Mexican cooking and recreating classic New England dishes from scratch developed while living in Mexico, on a steady diet of pork and habanero peppers. You can see more of my writing and photography online on Serious Eats, the Huffington Post, BlogHer, and Foodista, as well as in print for Downeast, Indulge, and Cigar Snob magazines.