I could have made an entire chapter just out of corn recipes. My love of corn stems from growing up in the Midwest with a corn field in my backyard…
For this book, I played around with a few different corn and poblano recipes (one of my favorite combos), but I always cam back to this rather traditional chowder.
Ingredients:
4 ears corn, husks and silks removed
4 cups chicken bone broth
1 bay leaf
4 poblano peppers
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 serrano chile, diced very small and seeds removed (optional, add only if you like heat)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 russet potato, peeled and cut into ¾ in (2 cm) dice
1 cup (240 ml) half-and-half
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Pinch of sugar (optional)
Chopped fresh chives & Bacon bits, for serving
How to make:
1. Cut the kernels off the cobs into a bowl and set aside (keeping the cobs to use for broth).
2. Snap the cobs in half and put them in a large pot. Add the broth, 1 cup water, bay leaf, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, peppercorns, and ¾ tsp of the salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer the broth for 30 minutes.
3. While broth is cooking, evenly char the poblanos (grill or broiler) for 8-10 mins and transfer to large zip loc bag. Once cool, remove charred skin, rinse, remove seeds, and cut into 3/4in pieces.
4. When the broth has 10 minutes of cooking time left, in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and celery and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the corn kernels, serrano (if using), and poblano pieces and sauté, 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté, 30 seconds. Add the flour, stirring to make sure the flour coats all the vegetables, and saute for 1 minute.
5. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer set over a heatproof bowl, discarding the solids. Transfer the broth to the Dutch oven along with the potatoes and the remaining 1/2 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Remove from the heat and stir in the half-and-half and lime juice. Add a pinch of sugar if your corn wasn't very sweet. Serve, topped with a sprinkle of chives and/or bacon bits.
