Summer Corn Chowder

Many corn soup recipes are chowders, and chowders generally include potatoes. Since potatoes and corn are more starch than I think is wanted in one recipe, I have collected some favorites that do not call for potatoes.

For some reason, most of these recipes are on the rich side, calling for cream or coconut milk, and cheese. One favorite is Indian and I usually make it in the winter with frozen corn.

Some vegetables, like asparagus, for instance, taste like two different foods from the canned to the fresh. But corn seems to be about the same whether it is home frozen at summer’s end, supermarket frozen, or even good quality canned. This means that though corn is associated with August, corn soups can be made year round.

This particular recipe seems summery because it is on the lighter side, and the yellow/red/green color combination looks refreshing. Cherry tomatoes cut in half can be used instead of the red pepper, but the pepper holds up better in later reheating.

 Instead of relying on potatoes to thicken the soup, the trick is to take half the soup and liquid, after the corn is cooked but before all the ingredients are added, and puree it. This gives the soup a solid consistency without using thickeners such as potatoes, cornstarch, or flour.

A recent houseguest brought us a chicken dinner with all the fixing for Friday night supper. After we had chicken and vegetables the first night, we made an Asian chicken salad the second night, and tacos the third night. Finally, all the collected bones were cooked up into a base for soup. That’s what went into the corn soup. However, when using homemade stock, it is necessary to adjust the seasoning for salt as even the best store-bought stock has a lot of salt.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 leek, cleaned and chopped

5 cups loosely packed corn

4 cups chicken broth

1 sweet red pepper, coarsely chopped

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

3 Tbsp. Chopped chives

Directions

1. Heat vegetable oil in soup pot
2. Add onion and leek and cook covered until soft
3. Add corn and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally
4. Add 2 cups chicken broth. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook covered for 20 minutes
5. Remove from heat. Cool partially and put half the mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth.
6. Return mixture to soup pot and add remaining ingredients

If you are very organized when serving meals, you can add the chopped chives to the actual serving bowls so they will be crisp and bright green. I find if I leave the garnishing of dishes to the last minute, it may not get done, so I add the chives to the pot.

Yellow Tomato Soup with Cilantro Relish

Yellow tomatoes used to be an exotic fringe item at the end of the summer, but with the focus on local organic farm products, by the end of July yellow tomatoes are right up there with the red ones. They show up about the same time and share the space on farm stand counters.

On the other hand, while it is possible to pick up baskets of red seconds for making sauce and soup, yellow rarely shows up that way, so making yellow tomato soup is still something special. Both the color and the flavor make this soup unusual.

Unlike last weeks no-cooking gazpacho, this soup starts out by getting its flavor from cooking the seasoning, and then adding the other ingredients. Once everything is cooked, the soup goes into the blender, and then to the refrigerator. The cilantro-red tomato relish can be made any time.

Ingredients

For the Soup

1 tsp coriander seeds

½ tsp cumin seeds

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 ½ tsp minced garlic

6 large yellow tomatoes cut into cubes

2 cups water

1 ½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 Tbsp lemon juice

For the Relish

1 medium red tomato, seeded and diced\

½ cup finely chopped red onion

¼ cup chopped cilantro

1 Tbsp lime juice

1 tsp minced jalapeno, or to taste

Soup Directions

1. Briefly toast the coriander and cumin seeds in the soup pot until they become fragrant and lightly brown. Be careful not to burn seeds.
2. Add olive oil and cook chopped onion and garlic until translucent. Do not brown; add a tablespoon of water if necessary.
3. Add tomatoes and cook five minutes.
4. Add remaining soup ingredients and cook 30 minutes.
5. Puree in blender or food processor.
6. Chill soup until serving.

Relish Directions

In a small bowl, combine all the relish ingredients. Adjust salt and pepper in soup and serve garnished with relish.

Everyday Gazpacho

Local tomatoes are making their appearance at the farmers’ markets. Ordinarily this would not be remarkable, but last year in the Northwest corner of Connecticut a blight wiped out the tomato crop and there was much fear that the culprit might lurk in the soil. But local farm stands are full of juicy red and yellow tomatoes, which means it is time for Gazpacho.

 My files include recipes for all kinds of special gazpachos: seafood, green, Mexican, or almost any other denomination. But my old standby is a recipe that always seems to please.  I call it “Everyday Gazpacho” because it does not require cooking, it uses ordinary seasonal ingredients, it takes only a few minutes to make, and it makes a quantity. Next time I will post a more exotic cooked tomato soup: Yellow Tomato Soup with Cilantro Relish.

Recently I tried a cold cucumber soup that seemed like a simple recipe: the few ingredients were combined in the blender, and then put through a strainer. The result was refreshing, but I would not recommend the recipe. Most recipes that ask you to put the results from your blender through a strainer have a problem. The strainer takes out so much pulp that the remaining liquid is just not worth the effort. We were left with two smallish cups of cold soup, which was just as well as it wasn’t a big hit with Mr. What’s For Lunch.

Gazpacho Ingredients

2 cups chopped tomatoes*

1 cup chopped red onion

1 cup chopped green pepper

1 cup chopped peeled and seeded cucumber

1 ½ tsp chopped garlic

1 ½ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 cups V-8 juice

Directions

1. Using a food processor, chop each of the first four ingredients separately by turning the machine on and off so that each one becomes small pieces but retains some consistency (this is a very brief process). Use a non-reactive bowl and add each vegetable as it is finished.
2. Add remaining 6 ingredients
3. Stir, cover, and refrigerate

*In an ideal kitchen, the tomatoes would be peeled. This can be done by cutting an X in the bottom of each tomato and submerging it in boiling water for 10 seconds to loosen skin. Chill under cold water and skin should come off. This is not an operation I generally do.

Szechwan Carrot Soup

Szechwan Carrot Soup

Everyone probably has a recipe for some kind of carrot soup. I have several, but this one has that subtle, mysteriously rich flavor that comes from the blending of several unexpected ingredients.

The recipe comes from friends of ours who renovated the family farmhouse and took the sunniest corner of the new kitchen, near the wood-burning stove, as an eating area. They like to invite guests for brunch or lunch in this sunny corner, rather than dinner in their dark, cool dining room. Their menus feature comfort food, like French toast marinated overnight or rich tasting soup.

Since they have lived in several different places, they have accumulated an eclectic store of recipes that they have shared with us. Their carrot soup has become one of our regulars, but it is not for anyone allergic to peanuts. On the other hand, it has plenty of nutritious ingredients.

In Search of Chicken Broth

So many recipes call for chicken broth that it is worthwhile exploring the options wherever you are. Since one of our sons became a farmer, we sometimes get large bags of chicken feet and necks. Cooking those up in a couple of big pots, along with tops from a bunch of celery, a couple of onions and carrots, produces a lot of broth. Since these parts come from pasture- raised chickens, there is no fat. Some of the broth I freeze in 4 cup containers, but I also puree the vegetables and keep a couple of containers of slightly thicker base.

When chicken parts are not on the horizon, I start reading the labels in the grocery story, or even a health food store. The labels are discouraging. Sugar and salt figure way too much in many brands, even ones that claim the high ground of being ‘gourmet,’ but at least a careful study can lead to the best of the bunch. If you find a brand that passes muster, stock up!

(Like all soups destined for the blender, there is no need to chop anything fine.)

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 celery rib, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 lb. carrots, cut up

¾ inch gingerroot, sliced

1/8 tsp. dried hot pepper flakes

3 cups chicken broth

1 ½ Tbsp soy sauce

1 ½ Tbsp creamy peanut butter

1 Tbsp sesame oil

1 cup milk, or more as needed

1. Cook onion, celery, garlic in oil until just soft
2. Add carrots, ginger, pepper, chicken broth and cook until carrots are tender.
3. Add soy, peanut butter, sesame oil, and milk.
4. Puree. If soup is too thick, add a little extra milk. When reheating, try not to boil.

This soup is hearty, even though it has no meat. With a salad or a cheese plate, it can make a fine lunch, of if you add both salad and cheese, with a good bread, you can have an easy dinner.