Potato Corn Chowder with Ham and Bacon

Cassie said she was getting off work early today.  There is some ham from the freezer that was left over from Easter.  There was some corn left over from something Cassie made and some bacon left over from something I made. I combined it all with potatoes and onions and made some chowder.  

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.