Late Summer Corn Chowder

A rich and creamy soup made with corn, potatoes, tomatoes, and peppers

It seems that fall comes later and later each year, with the warm summer weather lingering well into October and often even November in L.A. This year has been especially hot, so the whole city was thankful for the first cool day of the season over the weekend (and by cool, I mean 70 degrees and scattered showers). We made the most of it with a lazy day spent inside and a big pot of soup simmering on the stove. This corn chowder, which I adapted from Food52, is the perfect soup to take you from summer to fall. It's warm and hearty for cool evenings but it uses the best produce of late summer - sweet corn, ripe tomatoes, and colorful peppers. The soup calls for no broth or stock of any kind but instead gets most of its liquid from the vegetable juices that accumulate as the chowder slowly cooks over a low flame. The result is a thick, deeply flavored chowder that's full of texture. Serve it with crusty bread and you have the ideal one-pot dinner for the season.

Note: To make this vegetarian, omit the bacon and add more oil to sweat the vegetables.


Related Recipes:
- Sweet Corn Bisque
- Lobster, Corn, & Bacon Chowder
- Jalapeño-Corn Soup with Seared Scallops


Late Summer Corn Chowder:
Ingredients
- 7 ears of corn, shucked (6 if large)
- 1 1/2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, cored, and diced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 poblano pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 jalapeño pepper, minced
- 2 strips thick-cut bacon, diced
- 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 1/2 c. heavy cream
- 1 1/2 c. milk (low-fat is fine)
- olive oil
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- pinch of sugar
- fresh chives, minced

Recipe

• Cut the kernels off the corn, going about halfway deep on the cob. Then use the back of your knife to scrape the cobs and get as much corn "milk" off as possible. Collect both the kernels and juices in a large bowl.
• Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium high heat.
• Add the bacon and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until fat has rendered and bacon is crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the fat in the pot.
• Add the onion and a little oil if necessary and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until softened and translucent.
• Add the poblano and jalapeño and cook for another couple minutes.
• Add in the corn and juices, tomatoes, potatoes, and thyme and stir to combine. Season with salt and sugar. 
• Let the mixture sizzle, then turn the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook for 40 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so, or until potatoes are very tender.
• Add in the milk and cream and bring to a boil. Check for seasoning and adjust if needed.
• Fish out the thyme stems and ladle into bowls. Garnish with the bacon and chives.

Serves six, generously