Roasted Corn and Shrimp Chowder

The Why:

Personally, I think it's a mean trick by Mother Nature. One of my favorite ways to enjoy fresh corn is in a hearty, comforting, steaming bowl of roasted corn chowder when the temperatures turn cooler in fall and winter. Of course, the prime time for the best tasting fresh corn is when? That's right -- summer! What was Mother Nature thinking?

As it's mid-November, I was rather surprised to see a half a dozen ears of fresh corn in my Bountiful Basket this last Saturday. But, hey, I'm a huge fan of corn, so I'll take it! The ears weren't as plump and gorgeous as we had in the summer, and one was trashed immediately because it had mold on the top. (I know it's a delicacy in some parts of Mexico, but I just don't do moldy corn). Frankly, the taste of the corn in the final product wasn't as sweet and delicious as I remember from the summer corn, but I'll almost always take fresh vegetables over frozen, so considering the time of year, I was very pleased with the outcome. In fact, this has been my favorite so far in what I consider "soup season."

If you look over the ingredients, yes, you'll see bacon, butter, and cream. But this recipe makes a huge batch -- I'd estimate 8 to 10 meal-size servings or 12 to 16 appetizer servings. So if you cost out the fat and calories over the number of serving sizes, it's actually not that bad. In the whole batch, I used 3 slices of bacon, 2 tablespoons of butter, and one cup of cream. The rest of the liquid is in the form of chicken stock and low-fat milk. For a chowder-type soup, that's not totally awful.

I should note that I prefer my corn chowder to be more on the "soupy" side -- meaning it's not a thick chowder that you often see with something like clam chowder. If you prefer more thickness, you could reduce the amount of stock or use a thickening agent, such as a slurry of cornstarch and stock. I haven't tried this one in chowder, but I'd think you could puree some of the potatoes and add that back in to thicken the base. If anyone tries this, let me know how it worked out for you.

Also, I make my chowder from scratch. There are so many recipes online that call for cream of whatever soup (usually potato) and canned cream corn. I just don't do it that way -- when I want something as rich and comforting as corn chowder, I want the real deal! It's more time and effort, but I love the payoff.

A few "tricks":

I always roast the corn first. You just can't beat that roasted corn flavor, and that carries over fabulously in the soup. Hence the name, Roasted Corn Chowder. However, I do realize that tis the season where fresh corn is scarce. So, if you can't find fresh, feel free to use frozen corn kernels and, obviously, omit the step using the corn cobs.

Pureeing some of the corn with a little chicken stock gives an additional texture (like creamed corn) to the soup. Creaming the corn also helps thicken the base.

Also, as you'll see in the instructions, I use the corn cobs to enhance the flavor -- there's still a lot of corniness in those cobs, so it seems a shame to let that go to waste. Think of it as making "corn stock" during the soup-making process.

Finally, as you'll come to see if you check out my recipes regularly, I'm a huge fan of a little heat in my eats. Usually, you can leave out the heat producer if you prefer without hurting the flavor, but I just really love my spice -- especially when it's chilly out. In this recipe, I used one large chipotle in adobo pepper -- you can find these in cans in the Mexican aisle of the grocery store. Just the one pepper gave the soup a really nice level of spice without overpowering the corn taste. But if you prefer your chowder straight up, feel free to omit the pepper.

Now on to the good stuff!

The How:

Roasted Corn and Shrimp Chowder with Chipotle

3 slices of bacon, diced

2 T. butter

1 C. onion, diced (about 1 medium onion)

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 celery ribs, chopped

3 C. low-fat milk (2 percent)

1 C. heavy cream

3 to 4 C. chicken broth

1 bay leaf

3 C. potatoes, peeled and diced into ½ inch cubes

4 C. roasted corn, cut from the cob (about 6 medium ears)

1 chipotle in adobo, plus some of the sauce (optional)

½ C. red bell pepper, small diced

½ to ¾ lb large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

Chives for garnish (optional)

Preparing the corn:

To roast corn on the grill: Soak the ears – husks and all – in a sink full of water for one hour. Either make sure the ears are completely submersed or turn them occasionally. After soaking, trim or pull off any silk and pieces of husk that are hanging out which could catch on fire. Grill on medium to medium-high heat for about 12 to 15 minutes, turning a quarter of a turn every 2 or 3 minutes, until husks are nicely blackened.

To roast in the oven: Place corn, in husks, directly on the oven rack and roast at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

Let cool enough to handle, then cut the kernels off the cob. Cut the cobs in half and save them for the soup base.

The soup base:

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the bacon and fry until crisp, but not burned. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until the onions are soft. Add the celery and cook for 4 to 5 more minutes. Remove from heat.

Add the corn cobs to the saucepan. Add the milk, cream, 3 cups of the stock, and the bay leaf. With the heat on medium, bring the liquid up to a simmer and reduce the heat to medium-low to low. Simmer for 30 minutes, keeping the heat just high enough for a gentle simmer, but don’t boil. Stir frequently to ensure the milk doesn’t scald.

Everything else:

In a blender or food processor, puree 1 cup of the corn kernels with the remaining 1 cup of the stock and the chipotle pepper, if using.

Discard the cobs and the bay leaf from the saucepan and raise the heat to medium. Add the potatoes, corn kernels, corn puree, red bell pepper, salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Simmer until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Add the shrimp and the thyme. Simmer for about 4 to 5 minutes, until the shrimp turn pink.