Smokey Corn & Cheddar Chowder

Oh, man.  You have no idea how good this is.  And I'm not even blaming copious quantities of butter and cream -because there aren't any!  Score one for the good guys.

Yes, it's not usually hard to figure out why people love creamy soups.  Chowders, Cream ofs, Bisques, you name it.  These beauties often get their richness from copious quantities of heavy cream, used to thicken up the broth or finish a blended soup or just make something so humble as mushrooms be elevated through the power of CREAM.  And who can blame chefs? If it's thickened with cream, you can bet it'll be a top seller.

Anyway, creamy soups can be really good - but also really, entirely, too rich.  Sometimes, following a "more is more" ethos that I usually espouse, cooks will just use tons of the stuff, leading to a heavy taste, where cream's fatty richness overpowers everything else.  Plus, although I'll occasionally yield to the desire for cream of asparagus or lobster bisque in a restaurant, it's a lot harder for me to justify buying a quart-size heavy cream if I have the urge to make creamy soup myself.

Which I did the other night.  What to do, what to do....

Um, milk?

But the problem is, milk’s relative leanness just can’t compensate for all that lost butterfat.  People try to blend their soups, but this usually (to me) results in an off-putting graininess.  Instead, I go a three-fold starch route, using the natural starches in flour, corn and potatoes to thicken the soup and trick you into thinking it’s really creamy.  And, add some of that butter fat back in, along with extra flavor, in the form of CHEESE.  Clever, am I.  Oh, yes.

First, you just have to use a good knob of butter (yeah, in addition to some of the bacon fat – but not much) plus flour to build a nice, golden roux.  This will give the initial soup a good deal of body.  If you’re using homemade stock, instead of broth (stock is made with bones, broth with meat), the stock’s collagen content will add a thicker “mouthfeel” and give the soup more body as well.  Next, cook potatoes and corn right in the pot.  These will let off starches that will further enrich and thicken the soup.  Finally, stir in a handful of cheddar cheese at the end.  Not only does it taste gooood, but it amps up the creamy factor with a lot fewer calories than cream itself.

People, this soup is good.  It’s based on Barefoot Contessa’s recipe, but I’m recounting my lower calorie (and scaled-down) version below. 

Alas, we were far too busy eating it to take any pictures, but trust me on this one – you want to make this. 

Smokey Corn Cheddar Chowder

Makes 6 or so servings

3 strips smoked bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, diced

½ cup diced celery

½ cup diced green pepper

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 tsp smoked sea salt

4 cups chicken stock

3 cups corn (I used frozen, but fresh is awesome too)

1 baking potato, skinned and diced

1 ½ cups milk (I used 1%)

1 cup shredded smoked cheddar cheese, plus more for serving (or sharp cheddar works too)

Heat a soup pot over medium heat and throw in a bit of olive oil.  Add the bacon and sauté until crisp.  Remove bacon with a spoon, leaving about 1 tsp bacon fat in the pan.  Add the celery, green pepper and onions and cook until golden brown, 5 minutes. 

Add the butter to the pot and allow to melt, then add the flour.  Stir very well until the veggies are well coated.  Cook a few minutes, stirring constantly, until the roux starts to darken a bit in color, then add the stock.  Stir very well, scraping up any bits from the bottom, and making sure the roux is incorporated into the stock.

Add the potatoes, corn, reserved bacon and milk; stir, and season generously with salt and pepper.  Bring soup up to a boil, then immediately reduce heat to med-low.  Simmer soup for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.  Stir in cheese and stir until melted and incorporated.  Season again, if needed.  Serve with extra cheese, if desired.  NOTE: you can also keep the reserved bacon out of the soup and use it as a garnish at the end, or cook extra to garnish as well.  Green onions or chives would go oh-so-well on top as well.