Cold-Day Corn Chowder
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 6 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 6 servings
- Calories
- 414
- Total Fat
- 21
- Saturated Fat
- 10
- Carbohydrates
- 45
- Dietary Fiber
- 4
- Sugar
- 7
- Protein
- 14
- Cholesterol
- 43
- Sodium
- 1206
- Total: 1 hr
- Active: 35 min
Ingredients
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 small yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 large russet potato (about 12 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
4 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 6 ears fresh corn) or frozen corn (thawed and drained)
Directions
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
- Drain or spoon off all but 3 tablespoons of the fat in the pot. Add the onion, bell pepper and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables just begin to become tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the flour, thyme and bay leaves. Stir the flour into the vegetables to make a paste and coat them evenly. Cook a minute or two to get rid of the raw flour flavor. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, 15 minutes.
- Uncover the pot and add the potato, half-and-half and all but 1/2 cup of the corn. Simmer, uncovered, until the potato is very tender but not yet falling apart, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the reserved ½ cup corn and cook, stirring, until warmed through, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Discard the bay leaves from the soup. Puree about 1 cup of the soup in a food processor or blender and stir it back into the soup. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the cooked bacon and buttered corn kernels.