Just saying the word chowder conjures up in my mind a creamy bowl of goodness. I love creamy soups, and this one is heavy in the comfort stakes, plus the marriage of salty smoky bacon against the sweet pop of corn makes it perfect.
The word chowder has many possibilities in its translation – it is thought to be a possible deviation of the word ‘chaudron’ French for cauldron, or ‘chaudière’, which is French Quebecois for bucket, or even ‘Chodier’ the name for a cooking pot in the Creole language of the French Caribbean islands. Chowder is usually made solely with cream or milk, but I prefer a lighter version by adding some chicken stock, trust me it’s still plenty creamy!
Comforting Smoky Bacon and Corn Chowder
Course: MainDifficulty: Medium2
servings10
minutes30
minutesIngredients
1 tbsp of olive oil
25g of butter
1 clove of garlic minced
1 large onion chopped
30g plain flour
1 large potato peeled, and cubed
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
½ tsp of smoked paprika
1 litre of chicken stock
150ml double cream
400g tinned or frozen sweetcorn – or approximately 4 ears of corn on the cob
6 rashers of streaky smoky bacon, grilled until crispy
Directions
- Melt the butter and oil in a large saucepan
- Add the onion and soften, then add the garlic and cook for a minute or two until fragrant
- Add the flour, and stir well
- Add the stock, drained sweetcorn, diced potatoes, thyme, smoked paprika, bay leaf, and season well with salt and black pepper
- Let simmer for approximately 20 mins, or until the potatoes are just tender.
- like to reserve some of the soup back for texture instead of blending all of the soup, if wished separate approximately a fifth of the soup at this stage. Remove the bay leaf and allow to cool slightly.
- Pour cooled soup into the blender and blitz until smooth or use a hand blender.
- Pour blended soup and chunky soup back into the pan and add the cream. If at this stage its still a little thick, you can add a little more stock.
- Add the cooked crispy bacon
- To finish sprinkle with snipped chives, and freshly ground black pepper
Notes
- To finish sprinkle with snipped chives, and freshly ground black pepper.
