Saturday, November 19, 2011

Spicy Corn Chowder w/ Cheese


I guess you could say this is corn chowder part deux! Sara posted this delicious sounding corn chowder recipe a year ago. Unfortunately, I didn't have all the ingredients, so I wasn't able to try it. But, I definitely will one day. I have been wanting to make a spicy corn chowder after trying La Parisienne's (in downtown RVA) version. It was super good. Plus, it had a bit of cheesiness along with a nice spicy kick. I found many, many corn chowder recipes, but I thought this one from food.com sounded right up my alley. Even better I had all the ingredients save for heavy cream. But, I just grabbed that ingredient when I made a grocery store run. I have to say this soup was very, very delicious. I loved that I added cheese to it. I think next time I will only use about a cup of diced potatoes. I think 2 cups is a bit overboard. I agree with a lot of the commentators from food.com that you don't need to use a quart of chicken stock. I just added enough so that it had a thick but just right consistency. I highly, highly recommend this soup. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
lime, juice and zest of
2 tablespoons corn oil (I used olive oil)
1 large yellow onion, peeled and minced
1 quart chicken stock, preferably homemade (I wouldn't pour all of the chicken stock in there just enough until the consistency is more like a chowder...about 3/4 of the quart)
2 cups peeled diced russet potatoes
1 teaspoons ground red chili powder
1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne (optional)
1 anaheim chili, stem and pith removed,seeded and chopped (I used a jalapeno pepper)
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus
5 sprigs cilantro, tops for garnish
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
garnish with drained salsa, if desired

Take a medium sized bowl and pour in the corn. Add the lime zest and the juice of the lime. Set aside.
Next, take your large saucepan and add in the oil and the chopped onion and sautee until the onions are soft and translucent. Add about 1/2 the quart of chicken stock, the potatoes, chili pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, cumin, and cayenne. Bring to a boil. Then cover the sauce pan and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until the potatoes are very soft. Poke the potatoes with a fork to determine if they are soft. Add in the corn that you had set aside from earlier, and the heavy cream. Continue to cook until the soup thickens. At this point, try the soup and determine if you need to add any more of the spices and/or salt. I definitely did. When you get the seasonings just right add in the chopped cilantro. Add in your shredded cheese. I probably used about a 3/4 cup of cheese. I did not add salsa to the soup. But, feel free if you would like. And, enjoy!


(Click here for printable recipe)

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