Recipe: Corn Cheddar Chowder

To me, the beginning of fall means it’s the beginning of soup season. And, man, do I love a good, hearty soup! So this past weekend I decided to whip out the pot and make a warming and very filling chowder. What is particularly nice about this soup is that it is, first and foremost, very easy but also that it doesn’t make a lot of dishes. This chowder is very quick to make, with little prep time, which makes it an ideal weeknight dinner. It’s also very easy to double or triple, which I recommend if you plan to make this for more than two people as it only makes around 4-5 good sized bowls of tasty goodness. I usually accompany soups with sandwiches, rustic breads, or garlic bread. For this chowder, I made a pan of homemade cornbread since the soup has a hint of Southwestern flair.

In a medium sized pot, lightly brown the garlic in the butter. Add the bay leaves, cumin, sage, and parsley and stir the spices for a minute or so.

Add the wine, broth, potatoes, corn, green chilies, and the chipotle pepper.

 Bring it to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk the milk and flour together until all of the lumps are gone. Pour the milk mixture into the soup; cook for 5 minutes or until the soup thickens. Remove the soup from the heat. Stir in the cheddar until it melts.

And serve!

Corn Cheddar Chowder

sliver of butter

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

¼ teaspoon dried sage

1 tablespoon dried parsley

¼ cup dry white wine

2-2 ½ cups no sodium (or low sodium) vegetable broth

2-3 potatoes, diced

1 ½ cups frozen corn

1 dried chipotle pepper

1 (4oz.) can chopped green chilies, drained

1 ½ cups reduced fat milk (but not fat free or skim)

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups shredded cheddar

Useful cooking notes for this recipe:

Trader Joes sells 16 oz. bags of roasted frozen corn, which I bought several bags of just to put in soups this season. I used the roasted corn for this batch of soup and it was phenomenal! Dried chipotle peppers are not spicy. But what they do add is a smoky flavor to the broth. Adding crumbled bacon (or crumbled ‘fakin,’ i.e. fake bacon/vegetarian soy protein bacon stuff) also adds additional smokiness.