Kickin’ corn chowder

Printable recipe: FreeTheMom-Kickin-Corn-Chowder

It’s supposed to rain this week, so it’s soup time. After posting the Spinach Salad recipe last week, I got all nostalgic about my recipes from yesteryear, and decided to whip up a batch of this creamy soul soup. Plus, it’s got bacon. Anyone who liked the bacon in the last recipe is sure to like the bacon in this one, yo!

Mmmmmm, corn, cilantro, veggies, and turkey bacon. Love in a bowl, right there.

While it’s true that I’m a bit of a health food fanatic, I also love a rich and creamy bisque or chowder here and there. And guess what, the two are no longer mutually exclusive, yayyyy! The lean turkey bacon, scant 2T olive oil, and cream provide the fat for the recipe. If you are cooking for flavor I recommend using heavy cream, and if you’re after a healthier option then feel free to substitute any milk of your choice, 1%, 2%, or whole.

What’s a fact is that this soup is a serious crowd pleaser, so if you’ve got a slew of heathens invading your kitchen anytime soon this is the perfect recipe to have in your arsenal. The ingredients look something like this:

–  2T olive oil

–  1-8oz. package turkey bacon, cut into ½ inch dice

–  1 onion, cut into ½ inch dice

–  1 large carrot, cut into ½ inch dice

–  2 celery stalks, cut into ½ inch dice

– 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, fingerling, or baby Dutch potatoes, cut into ½ inch dice

–  3 cups or 1 bag of frozen corn kernels

–  (optional for spice) 1 small green chili (Anaheim or poblano), seeded and finely diced

–  ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish

–  1 t kosher salt

–  ½ t fresh ground pepper

–  ½ teaspoon ground cumin

–  pinch of cayenne pepper

–  1 cup dry white wine

–  5-7 cups vegetable or chicken stock

–  1 cup heavy cream or your choice of milk

–  (optional for spice) Green Tabasco, a few dashes

Start by dicing up an 8 ounce package of turkey bacon. If your husband is a bacon thief like mine then you should probably make it 2 packages. I’m imparting this wise advice, yet always fail to actually remember this when I’m the one cooking the bacon…

Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat.

Then throw the bacon pieces in and cook until they are brown and crispy and you are drooling like a pit bull. The thing about turkey bacon is that it’s just not great until it’s really nice and crispy. So go for it, brown those babies.

Once the bacon is finished crisping up remove the it from the pot with a slotted spoon and set it aside to be used as a tasty garnish. Be sure to leave all of the yummy blackened bits on the bottom of the pot – those will de-glaze when we add the white wine later on and become a crazy wild flavorful addition to the soup.

While all that magic is happening with the bacon on the stove, dice up a large carrot, 2 celery stalks, an onion, and a pound of baby golden potatoes. About 1/2 inch dice is good, though the exact size is not that important as long as the cubes are as uniform in size as possible so that they cook at the same rate.

Anyone else love a pile of diced veggies as much as I do?

Drop the diced onion into your pot, and cook until it’s just beginning to soften up, about 3 minutes.

Then add in the carrot, celery, and green pepper (if you’re a fan of the spice), and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until the veggies are barely tender.

Now let’s jazz this operation up! Throw in your spices.

Mmmmmm, can you smell this? It’s amazing. Stir it all up, then – now pay attention here – turn up the heat to high. Some good shit’s about to go down.

Pour 1 cup of white wine into the pot and watch the crowd go wild. At this point take a minute to scrape all of the remaining brown bits off the bottom of the pot. The acid in the wine de-glazes the pan, removing most of the browned yumminess. But it would be a shame to eave even a smidge behind, so get to scrapin’. You’re going to cook this at high heat for about 4 minutes until most of the wine has evaporated from the pot.

Now add the diced potatoes to the mix.

Then pour in about 5-6 cups of chicken or vegetable stock and pop the lid on the pot. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low.

Cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the veggies are done. Cooking time will depend on the size of your dice, so be sure to taste-test often. Nobody likes a pot of mushy vegetables. Okay, I kinda’ do, but that’s not what we’re going for here.

After the veggies are cooked through stir in 1 cup of heavy cream or milk, and 1 bag of frozen corn. Cook for another few minutes to heat the corn through, taking care not to bring the liquid to a boil and scald the cream.

Stir in 1/4 chopped cilantro and congratulate yourself on a job well done. Really, how freaking easy was that?!

This soup looks absolutely beautiful sitting on the stove.

And even better in a bowl topped with extra cilantro and turkey bacon. You should probably make extra. One package is never enough.

So there you have it, easy peasy rainy day grub! Even my husband who doesn’t eat soup will chow down on a bowl of this. It’s comforting and soulful, hearty but not heavy, sweet and perfectly creamy. Try it, love it, make it your own…then tell me all about it!

Here’s your handy printable: FreeTheMom-Kickin-Corn-Chowder

Happy day, my peeps!

Tags: cilantro, comfort food, cooking, corn chowder, rainy day, soul food, soup