mulberryshoots

It’s Sunday and I have a dozen ears of fresh corn in the fridge. What better meal to make than homemade creamy corn chowder? I was inspired by a recipe I saw online but am following some of it (coconut milk) but not all the ingredients.

Mine includes:

1) Cooking a whole medium chopped onion in half a stick of unsalted butter.

2) Add about 2 tablespoons of fresh baked ham (leftover) cut into small pieces and add to the onion.

3) To this smoky aromatic pot, cut kernels off of 6 ears of shucked and cleaned off corn, reserving the cobs.

4) To the cut corn, place the cobs back into the pot and add water to cover. Cook on low medium heat for about a half hour to allow the corn “milk” from the cobs to flavor the broth.

5) Remove the boiled cobs and discard. To the remaining corn broth, add half a packet of Knorr chicken stock gelatin and stir to dissolve in the broth.

6) Let the soup rest after simmering for another 10 minutes or so. When cool, process half of the corn kernals in a blender until smooth and add back to the pot. This step is important because it provides a dense, creamy texture to the soup. Add a can of whole coconut milk.

7. Clean and rinse 1/3 pound of salad shrimp – removing tails. Dry off with a paper towel. When close to serving the soup, slightly heat the shrimp in a skillet with melted butter and stir until warmed through. When the soup is ready to serve (warm, not piping hot,) add the shrimp on top of the soup. Cut some fresh parsley and sprinkle on top of soup.

8. Heat up a loaf of hearth bread in the oven until crust is crispy and warmed through.

9. Serve with a fresh butter lettuce salad with avocado, cherry tomatoes and red onion in a vinaigrette with fresh lemon; the crusty bread with unsalted butter and bowls of the cream of corn chowder with shrimp on top.

And for dessert, a small slice of creamsicle ice box cake! Yummy and tasty for an August Sunday summer meal!

Postnote: This soup was delicious! The ham bits I sauteed with the onions made for a smoky broth. Pureeing half of the corn is key to making the soup creamy and delicious. I wouldn’t use shrimp the next time because it isn’t a natural complement. I might use more ham or bacon next time, and puree more of the corn along the way. The coconut milk made it sweet but not cloying. Definitely a keeper – now that corn is really in season, I’m going to make a big batch and freeze it to enjoy when the snow flies!