Corn Chowder excerpted from The Friendly Vegan Cookbook by Michelle Cehn and Toni Okamoto
From Toni and Michelle: We can’t sing the praises of this soup enough. It’s creamy-yet-chunky, and sings with the flavor of fresh summer corn. We’ve already had friends begging us for this recipe, and lucky for them—and you—it’s really easy to make. If corn’s not in season, don’t worry—the frozen variety works just as well.
Yield: 4–6 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 25 minutes | Total time: 45 minutes
You’ll need: a blender and (optionally) an immersion blender
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium jalapeno, seeded and minced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 pound red, russet, or Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped
4 cups corn kernels (frozen corn or fresh uncooked corn sliced directly off the cob—about 4 large ears), divided
4 cups rich vegetable broth (or equivalent amount of vegetable bouillon and water)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups unsweetened, plain plant-based milk
2 tablespoons chopped green onion, for garnish
Freshly ground black pepper, for garnish
- In a large soup pot, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onion, garlic, bell pepper, jalapeno, and celery and saute for 4 to 5 minutes, until the onion becomes translucent and tender.
3. Add the potatoes, 2 cups of the corn kernels, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
4. In a blender, combine the remaining 2 cups of corn kernels, salt, and plant-based milk and blend on high until smooth. Pour the mixture into the pot of soup, bring to a boil, and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
5. Remove the pot from the heat. Using an immersion blender, briefly blend some (but not all) of the soup. This will thicken the soup, but visible chunks of the ingredients should remain. (Alternatively, you can use a regular blender to puree half of the soup, and then add it back in.) Be careful not to overpuree, because you want plenty of chunkiness to remain in the soup.
6. Garnish each bowl with chopped green onion and freshly ground pepper.
Friendly Suggestion: If you have extra frozen corn kernels, toss them in the soup after blending.
good job guyz….didnt have enoubh corn so we used mixed veggies…we’ll let u no how it cam out…getting cold in saratoga (NY)…c ya!
Paule