Another great end of season recipe--Corn Chowder

Just as I was getting all excited about gazpacho, the weather took a turn for the worse and it's 65 degrees today. Just saying--you might try some corn chowder for a change!

1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 strip of bacon or 1 teaspoon of bacon fat or another Tbsp of butter(
I large yellow onion, chopped
1 or 2 large carrots, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
5 ears of sweet corn, kernels removed from the cobs but reserve the cobs
1 bay leaf and a sprig sweet basil
3 1/2 cups milk, whole or low fat
3 medium potatos dices
1 red bell pepper, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the bacon strip and fry until the bacon renders its fat, but doesn't begin to brown, 3 or 4 minutes. Add the onions and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until soft. Add the carrots and celery and cook for 4 or 5 more minutes.

Break the corn cobs in half and add them to the saucepan. Add the milk and bay leaf.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat and simmer. Make sure the heat is as low as can be and still maintain a gentle simmer to prevent scalding the milk on the bottom of the pan.

Discard the cobs, the bacon strip, and the bay leaf. Raise the heat, add the potatoes, red pepper, 1 teaspoon of salt, fresh ground pepper to taste, bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost fork tender.

Raise the heat, add the corn kernels and the thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.

This is a great meal for a cool fall evening to celebrate the end of the hot weather garden. The corn can be overripe and still be delicious.

Enjoy!

September 22, 2011

Another great end of season recipe--Corn Chowder