Heavenly Winter Corn Chowder

Corn Chowder in the depths of winter? Yes! The trick is to stay as far away from the usual expectations around summertime FRESH CORN chowder as possible. And this lightly thickened, velvet textured, beautifully smokey soup does just that. You may want to bless that bag of frozen corn.

Makes 3 quarts; or eight 12-ounce servings.

Print Recipe

Course Soup

Cuisine Spanish

Servings 8

Equipment

8-quart soup pot

Ingredients

5 cups frozen corn kernels (divided)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large yellow onions, skinned, stemmed, and chopped
4 cloves garlic, skinned and minced
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons SMOKED Spanish Paprika
8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
6 medium new potatoes, scrubbed and diced (3 cups diced)
1 cup heavy cream

Seasoning

sea salt, to taste
Korean course red pepper powder or freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Garnish (optional)

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

Instructions

Puree 2 cups of corn in a blender, preferably a high-speed blender (Vitamix) until creamy. Reserve.
In a six-quart soup pot, over medium-low heat, melt butter and add onions, garlic, smoked paprika, and thyme.
Cook slowly, stirring often, until onions are softened and translucent.
Add chicken stock and stir to combine.
Add potatoes and bring to a simmer.
Simmer until potatoes are nearly tender and then add bell pepper and celery.
Simmer a few minutes more, making sure to retain some definite crunch in the veggies.
Add cream and stir to combine.
Season to taste with salt and Korean coarse red pepper powder (my fave!) or freshly ground black pepper.
Serve garnished with a dusting of parsley.

Keyword chowder, corn, soups, Spanish, winter