Potato Corn Chowder with Ham and Bacon
A fresh corn chowder with tender potatoes and savory ham. This recipe is hearty and could be served as a main coarse for lunch or dinner. Adding the cobs of corn after removing the kernals adds a great fresh corn flavor to the soup base. A delicious seafood variation for this recipe would be to substitute the ham for some bay scallops or medium size shrimp with a cup of lump crab meat.
Yields 6 to 8 servings
Ingredients:
Olive oil
6 strips bacon, diced
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 serrano or jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk of celery, finely diced (substituted some Romaine lettuce stalks)
2 large Roma tomatoes, diced
2 fresh ears of corn, remove corn kernals and reserve both corn and the cobs (I used 5 ears of corn)
4 cups chicken broth
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1 pound red potatoes, sliced into 1 inch pieces
2 cups milk
4 tablespoons masa harina (used corn meal)
1 teaspoon thyme
2 tablespoons chipotle hot sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 cup cotija cheese, grated
6 ounces cooked ham steak, diced
salt and pepper to taste
* if you can’t find masa harina, you could thicken the chowder with 4 tablespoons each of softened butter and flour whisked together until smooth
Adding the cobs to the soup/chowder adds a fresh corn flavor.
Red, white and yellow potatoes require less cooking time and ideal for soups and chowders.
Directions:
1. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to large pot. Add the bacon and cook until crispy. Remove bacon from pot and transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. In that same pot, add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil and heat to medium.
2. Add the onions, serrano, garlic and celery. Saute for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cobs, tomato paste and 4 cups of broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes.
3. Remove the cobs from soup and discard. Add the potatoes, corn and milk. Whisk the masa harina with 1/2 cup of water until smooth. When the soup starts to simmer, whisk in the masa harina mixture. Add the thyme, chipotle and vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook just until potatoes are fork tender. Add in the cotija cheese, ham and bacon. Cook for 5 more minutes. Garnish with green onions.
If you can’t find cotija cheese, substitute with Parmesan cheese.
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