This soup is such a perfect blend of sweet corn nostalgia and winter comfort that I can get a craving for this soup just about any season… but it feels especially fitting during that ‘hungry gap’ when many of the frozen veggies are gone and we’re down to sprouting potatoes and mason jars from the pantry.

This recipe can skew simple or a little more involved depending on how you’re feeling, but on way or another, make this while it is still soup season!

My latest version included the last of a batch of ‘corn and vegetable stock’ from the summer. This simple seeming stock is rather magical in my opinion. You make it from the leftover cobs after canning the sweet corn this past summer. This just pulls all the deliciousness out of every cob of corn.

After you cut off the corn kernels off the cob, just toss cobs, and onion peelings, celery leaves, carrots (or just their peelings), garlic and a bay leaf into a pot and simmer for at least 4 hours, strain off the stock and either freeze (leaving a good inch of headroom in the jar) or pressure can with the cans of corn.

Like all my recipes, especially soups, there is a lot of leeway to use up veggies and ingredients that you have on hand. If you have zucchini but not celery, go for it- or parsnips instead of carrots- OK! Make this recipe yours, you are in control in hte kitchen!

Corn Chowder Recipe

Ingredients

½ lb Bacon cooked, drained, crumbled1 yellow onion, diced
1-3 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 medium carrots, shredded or diced
2 stalks of celery finely diced (using frozen is fine)
1 tsp Thyme
1 Bay Leaf
*Optional Pepper (see note below)
4-6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
(or the amazing corn cob and veggie stock)
½ lb potatoes, chopped into bite size pieces (Yukon Gold or whatever least starchy potatoes you have)
1 quart of canned sweet corn (or roughly 8 fresh ears)
Note: If you have any creamed corn you can sub in up to half of that for the corn kernels.
Salt And White Pepper to Taste

Directions

Cook bacon, reserving 3 tablespoons of fat (at least) in the pan. Set bacon aside and crumble once cooled.

Sauté onions, garlic, carrots, celery in bacon fat until onion is translucent.
Add in thyme and bay leaf.

*You can also add in some heat with a ‘hot’ pepper such as; jalapeno, poblano, black Hungarian or even a milder Alma Paprika. I often use frozen peppers in soups and love their flavors. This can add a nice depth of flavor. Leave whole and add in with spices, sautéing just enough to release the oils before adding the stock. Be sure to scoop pepper out of soup before serving.

Add in potatoes and stock, simmer roughly 20 minutes.

Take off heat.

Using your stick blender, puree about half of the contents of the pot. Stir in and take off heat. (If you like a chunkier soup, skip this step).

Add whole milk, half and half or a little cream and taste test.

Confession: I have started liking to finish this soup off with both butter and lemon juice… Hear me out!

The butter at the end is a chef secret, thanks to Chef Matt of Browns + Blues, and the lemon juice adds a layer of brightness and might be needed depending on just how “sweet” your sweet corn is.

And then of course, add those bacon crumbles, some nice cheddar, and if you happen to have any green onion or chives- they freshen up the whole bowl as well. Nothing beats a crusty loaf of sourdough to accompany this soup.

This is such a perfect example of simple foods becoming elevated when together.

I really hope you give it a try.

…And of course let me know what you think!

Dig In,
Michelle