Last weekend I made corn Chowder for the first time! Not as good as my dad's, mostly because he puts fancy sausage in his, but it was decent. There are definitely somethings that I would do differently next time, like use a bigger pot or just start off in two pots, you'll see why soon. Also I wouldn't be a cheap college student and just use the fat free milk that we already had. Trust me, cream is the way to go. The fat free milk turned out to be too thin for my liking and didn't give it the healthy chowder color that I'm used to.
And speaking about being a cheap college student, my friend went to Wegmans with me to pick up the ingredients for this recipe. Looking at my cart, he commented on how expensive it was to make soup, why don't I just by it canned? Well this recipe more than proved that point of view incorrect. Even though I made a double batch of it, I only ended up paying $10 at Wegmans. Granted, I shopped cheaply by purchasing off brand products and didn't have to buy cream, but I think this is more than reasonable to spend on soup. I even had an extra onion and most of a garlic clove left over. Making a single batch would cost about $5 and made at least seven or eight servings. This means that each serving only costs about 70 cents. Plus you get the added bonus of your chowder not having a ton of preservatives and sodium in it!
Anyway, here's the recipe, let me know if you try it out.
Dice your celery into corn sized pieces. A little bit bigger than kernel sized isn't the end of the world but definitely make sure that they're all the same size compared to one another so they will cook at the same rate:
Do the same to your onions (try not to cry, Hint: refrigerate them first) and potatoes:
Heat your oil. Not too hot though, you don't want it popping and burning you:
Add celery, onions, and garlic and cook until slightly tender and translucent. Then add flour to soak up the oil (see recipe below):
Add stock. Bring to a boil. It is essential that this chowder boils because that is most of what thickens it to the desired texture. Boiling helps the flour/ oil mixture to thicken the chowder:
I realized at this point that there's not a way in hell that I was fitting all this corn into one pot:
I very carefully split into two pots, trying not to burn myself:
Add in the corn and cook for another ten minutes or so:
Allow to cool a bit, at least so it's not boiling, then add the milk gradually:
Recipe from The Complete Book of Soups and Stews
by Bernard Clayton Jr.
Ingredients:
3 cups corn kernels
2 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons flour (dad and my addition)
1 cup finely sliced celery (about 2 stalks)
2 cups thinly sliced onions (2 medium)
1 clove garlic, minced
3 medium potatoes, pared, in 1/2 inch dice
1 16-oz can tomatoes, chopped (I didn't use this)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (counteracts acid in tomatoes, again, didn't use)
2 cups milk or light cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Note: be sure to dice everything approximately the same size, about the size of a corn kernel.
Puree 2 of the 3 cups of corn in a food processor or blender, and set aside for later use. (I skipped this part, I just put all of them in whole because all I had was a mini smoothie maker)
In a medium saucepan heat the vegetable oil then add the celery, onions, and garlic and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are somewhat tender and translucent, about 12 minutes.
Our addition: Add two tablespoons flour and mix until it soaks up all of the oil and coats the vegetables. If you don't do this, all the oil will float to the top of your soup when you're done cooking it and you'll have to either deal with it or skim it off. Making a roux (flour and oil) suspends the oil within the soup instead of letting it float to the top. It also helps thicken the soup which is very important. Remember that the roux will only thicken the soup if the broth that it's in boils, so make sure to let your soup boil for a bit if you want thick soup.
Pour the stock into the saucepan and add diced potatoes, tomatoes and baking soda. If you don't use the tomatoes like I did, there's no need for the baking soda. Cook until the potatoes are almost tender, about twelve minutes.
Add the corn, pureed (if you did it) and whole to the pot and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Stir frequently. Potatoes and corn should be tender.
Turn down heat, until it's no longer boiling. Add the milk or cream and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Eat!
Note: I made a double batch and froze half of it for later, it seems to be holding up fine. Just remember that your chowder has milk products in it, so make sure you don't keep it in your fridge too long or it will spoil.
Our addition: Add two tablespoons flour and mix until it soaks up all of the oil and coats the vegetables. If you don't do this, all the oil will float to the top of your soup when you're done cooking it and you'll have to either deal with it or skim it off. Making a roux (flour and oil) suspends the oil within the soup instead of letting it float to the top. It also helps thicken the soup which is very important. Remember that the roux will only thicken the soup if the broth that it's in boils, so make sure to let your soup boil for a bit if you want thick soup.
Pour the stock into the saucepan and add diced potatoes, tomatoes and baking soda. If you don't use the tomatoes like I did, there's no need for the baking soda. Cook until the potatoes are almost tender, about twelve minutes.
Add the corn, pureed (if you did it) and whole to the pot and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Stir frequently. Potatoes and corn should be tender.
Turn down heat, until it's no longer boiling. Add the milk or cream and Worcestershire sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Eat!
Note: I made a double batch and froze half of it for later, it seems to be holding up fine. Just remember that your chowder has milk products in it, so make sure you don't keep it in your fridge too long or it will spoil.
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