Summer’s Best Corn Chowder

Name: Summer’s Best Corn Chowder
Yield: Makes 8 Soup-Course Servings
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons vegetable oil; 4 thick slices bacon, cut into ½-inch lengths; 5 slender carrots, trimmed, peeled, and sliced ¼ inch thick on a sharp diagonal; 3 medium-large onions, coarsely chopped; 1 pound (4 or 5 small-medium) new or boiling potatoes, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut crosswise ½ inch thick; 3 slender celery ribs, trimmed, strings removed (Celery Stringing), and sliced on a sharp diagonal ¼ inch thick; 3 tablespoons ½-inch lengths snipped fresh chives; Pilot, oyster, or other plain crackers, for serving; 3 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, cored, seeded (Tomato Basics), and cut into large dice; Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 2 cans (about 14 ounces each) chicken broth, preferably reduced-sodium; 7 cups corn kernels with milky pulp (cut and scraped from 11 to 15 ears), 4 or 5 cobs reserved; 3 fresh thyme sprigs or ½ teaspoon dried; 2½ cups whole milk, or more as needed

Preparation info

Makes
8
Soup-Course Servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Get in There and Cook

By Richard Sax

Published 1997

About

Here’s a creamy chowder with full corn flavor; note that it’s made without flour or cream. With shrimp added (see the variation opposite), the chowder becomes a great height-of-summer supper. And the recipe makes enough to feed a crowd or provide ample leftovers.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 thick slices bacon, cut into ½-inch lengths
3

Starter
Main course
Supper
Dinner
Summer
Gluten-free
Soup

Method

Combine the oil and bacon in a nonreactive large, heavy saucepan or casserole over medium heat. Cook the bacon fairly slowly, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon and pouring off the excess fat once or twice, until the bacon pieces are lightly golden but only partially crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. With a skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined