Recipes

As a child, my grandmother made us dinner every Friday and one of my favorite dishes she made in the winter was a warm corn chowder, full of fresh sweet corn. This recipe is inspired by her delicious dish but lightened up with evaporated milk which is a great substitute for heavy cream. It is also one of those dishes that tastes better after all the flavors have had a chance to combine overnight, so I usually make it on Sunday and then eat it for lunch or dinner throughout the week.  I also use this base for a number of other chowders.

Lighter Corn Chowder
Servings: 8
Serving Size: about 1 1/2 cups * 5 P+

Ingredients
6 ears of fresh sweet corn (you could also substitute frozen or canned corn but fresh corn will have the most flavor)
2 cups of low fat evaporated milk
6 cups of non fat vegetable or chicken broth
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 chopped onion
2 diced starchy potatoes (like an Idaho)
2 stalks of diced celery
1/4 cup of flour
2 tbsp butter
3 cloves of finely chopped garlic
Generous amount of salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions
1. Melt the two tablespoons of butter in a large soup pot or dutch oven.  Once the butter is melted, add in the onions, celery, thyme, and garlic and cook for about 7-10 minutes until soft and the onions become translucent.  Make sure not to let the garlic burn or it will become bitter.

2. Once the vegetables have become soft, sprinkle with the flour and stir to coat.  This will help thicken the soup.

3. Add the vegetable or chicken broth to the soup pot and bring to a boil.

4. Once the vegetable broth is boiling, add in the 2 cups of evaporated milk and the potatoes.  Bring to a boil again and allow everything to boil rapidly for about 7 minutes until the potatoes begin to break down slightly.  This will help thicken the soup as well because the potato releases some of its starch.  Before adding the corn, taste the broth and add a generous amount of salt and pepper to flavor the broth.

5. Turn down the heat to a simmer and add in the fresh corn kernels.  Allow to cook for between 8-10 minutes until the corn begins to become tender.  If you are not planning on serving it that night, I would only cook the corn for about 4 minutes because it will continue to cook as the soup cools.  Mix in the fresh parsley before serving to add some brightness to the dish.