Ah, winter is upon us- bugs have died by the truckload and I love it. But
along with chill winds and icy rains, there’s also the slowly diminishing warmth and increasing need for comfort derived of rich, solid food. Fortunately, chowder, richest of soups, can always help us out with that.
Although chowders are traditionally prepared with either some variety of pork or seafood, definitions are fast and loose these days. After all, we live in a world where Katy Perry is called a recording artist with a straight face. That being said, this particular chowder is a thick, hearty vegetarian dish; if you’re either purist of chowder or simply of clams, you can move on. Also, this recipe requires either a food processor- a blender could work, but use it carefully. Anyone else, you can modify this with either bacon as a fat or chicken stock or both. Serve it with crusty bread and baby, you’ve got yourself a chowder.
Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
1 medium white onion, small dice
1 large red bell pepper, medium dice
1 15 oz can yellow corn (or approximately 1 ½ cups fresh)
4-5 medium Yukon gold potatoes, medium dice
1 ½ tsp thyme
¾ tsp oregano
2 ½ cups vegetable stock
½ cup milk/ half & half/cream, room temperature.
Salt & black pepper to taste (as always, preferable kosher and cracked)
Chopped green onions/scallions
Recipe:
In a large saucepot, heat butter on medium high heat, but do not brown. Add onion and bell pepper, cooking until translucent. Remove one half of onion/pepper mixture and set aside to cool- once it’s not red hot, you’re going to process it. In the meantime, add drained and rinsed corn, potatoes, herbs and S&P to the saucepot, stirring until combined. Add stock just until covered and set to simmer.
Meanwhile, blend the reserved onion/pepper mixture in a food processor until a thick, slightly chunky puree. Stir back into the saucepot- this is going to make your chowder even richer, as well as give it a lovely reddish hue. Simmer on medium heat until potatoes are fully cooked, without having lost their shape. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Slowly stir the dairy into the chowder, but make sure it’s not too cold- you don’t want it to curdle now that you’re almost done. Adjust S&P for taste and garnish with scallions. Should deliciously serve two to three folks.
by Nathan Kamal
