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La Belle Cuisine
Corn Chowder:
The All-American Summer Soup
The Times-Picayune, New
Orleans, LA, August 1, 2002
By Stephanie Witt Sedgwick,
The Washington Post
“Loaded with corn, thick with
chunks of potato and celery, flavored with
smoked bacon or pork, corn
chowder is American cooking at its best. This
hearty summer soup -- a happy
fusion of native ingredients and a cooking
method developed first
at the
hearth and then refined in today's home
kitchens -- is almost synonymous
with long summer days and fresh corn.
‘Chowder evokes food memories, summers on vacation,’ says Bill Phillips,
chef-instructor at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.,
and
a former chef at Red Sage in Washington. ‘It contains the common
thread in
American cooking -- corn and pork -- and it's hearty and it's
salty,’ says
Phillips, ‘What's
not to like?’
Although American chowders are most often associated with seafood, corn
became a natural substitute as New Englanders moved out and settled across
the country, according to Jasper White, author of ‘50 Chowders’ (Scribner,
2000). Fish was not available, but corn was plentiful.
‘They had the heritage of making and eating chowders, and corn took over.
By
the end of the late 1800s corn chowder was very popular,’ he continues.
‘When I examined cookbooks and recipes of the times, there were hundreds
and
hundreds
of recipes for corn chowder, more than any other type
of chowder.
Chowder recipes vary not only state by state, but community to community.
However, there's still a consensus on ingredients. Pork, though not an
abso-
lute,
is expected. Douglas Anderson, executive chef at the Four Seasons
in Washington, has been studying American regional cooking since his days
in
the kitchen at Boston's Four Seasons Hotel. ‘Some sort of smoked bacon,
though not a must,
is likely -- standing in for the salt pork originally
used,’
he says.
Everyone agrees that onions and potatoes are essential, and celery is found
in
most recipes as well. As for consistency, the soup should be almost stew-
like –
‘nice and chunky,’ describes White.
Chowder also has a dairy component, though that ingredient has varied over
time. While many chowder recipes have a soup base of milk and cream, today,
it is far more common to start with a broth or stock, whether one made from
boiling the corncobs in water or a homemade chicken stock enriched with
the
corncobs.
Cream is added at the end of cooking.
The move away from milk bases has a practical basis. Milk-based broths have
a tendency to curdle. Using a corn, vegetable or chicken broth brings
stability
and flavor. Cream added at the end introduces the almost-essential
dairy
element -- especially in a corn chowder -- with little danger of
curdling.
Chowders were developed by home cooks who often had little or no equipment,
so by its very nature the dish is not intimidating. The vegetables don't
need to
be
cut precisely. The cooking times are not exact. The finished dish
can easily
serve
as supper. But some recipes are better than others.”
Corn Chowder
Makes 7 1/2 to 8 cups, 6
generous servings
"This is my version of classic
corn chowder. Use it as a guide,
altering it
as you
see fit, to make the
recipe your own."
4 ears corn, husks and silk
removed
3 cups chicken stock or broth
1 cup water, plus additional as
needed
4 ounces thick-cut or slab
bacon, diced into
1/4- to 1/2-inch
cubes or pieces
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, thick stalks
cut in half lengthwise,
cut into
1/4-inch-thick slices
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded
and cut into
1/4-to 1/2-inch squares
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 pound all-purpose or Yukon
Gold potatoes,
peeled and
cut into
3/4-inch dice
Salt and freshly ground black
pepper to taste
1 cup heavy cream
Working with one ear of corn at
a time, stand it vertically on a flat
work surface. Hold the ear steady with
one hand while using a small
sharp knife
in the other hand to slice downward
along the cob,
removing the kernels in strips from each ear. Be careful to
cut only
the kernels, not the cob.
Reserve both the kernels and the cobs.
Break each shaved cob in half.
In a medium pot over medium heat,
bring
the cobs and stock or broth and
water to a boil. Reduce the heat
to medium low. The broth should maintain a
gentle simmer.
While the broth simmers, in a
large pot over medium heat, fry the
bacon
until it begins to brown but is
not crisp, about five minutes.
Leave the
bacon in the pot and pour off all
but one tablespoon of
drippings. Reserve additional drippings. Add the
onion, celery and
bell pepper to the bacon
and drippings in the pot and
cook, stirring
occasionally, until the vegetables soften, eight to 10
minutes. Add
one tablespoon of the reserved drippings
to the pot and
sprinkle the
mixture with the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until the
flour is
completely incorporated, one to two minutes.
Remove the cobs from the broth
and discard them. Measure the broth.
If
you have less than three cups, add
as much water as necessary to
measure three cups. To the vegetables and
bacon in the pot, add the
broth, reserved corn kernels, potatoes and salt
and pepper to taste and
bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium low, so
the soup just barely
boils, and cook
until the potatoes are tender, 10 to 15
minutes. Remove
from the heat. Stir
in the cream and set aside for 20
minutes. Taste and
adjust the seasoning accordingly.
Per serving: 395 calories, 26
grams fat, 73 milligrams cholesterol, 488 milligrams sodium.
Spicy Andouille, Crawfish and
Corn Chowder
Makes 7 1/2 to 8 cups, 6
servings
"If you like your chowder spicy,
this is the recipe for you."
4 ears corns, husks and silk
removed
3 cups chicken stock or broth
1 cup water, plus additional as
needed
1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable
oil, or as necessary
6 ounces fully cooked andouille
sausage links, each
halved
lengthwise,
then cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, cut into
1/4-inch slices
1 medium green bell pepper,
seeded and cut into
1/4- to 1/2-inch squares
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
1 pound all-purpose or Yukon
Gold potatoes, peeled
and
cut into
3/4-inch cubes
4 ounces cooked crawfish tails
Salt and freshly ground black
pepper to taste
1 cup heavy cream
Working with one ear of corn at
a time, stand it vertically on a flat work surface. Hold the ear steady with
one hand while using a small sharp knife
in the other hand to slice downward
along the cob, removing the kernels
in strips from each ear. Be careful to
cut only the kernels, not the cob.
Reserve both the kernels and the cobs.
Break each shaved cob in half.
In a medium pot over medium heat,
bring
the cobs, stock or broth and water
to a boil. Reduce the heat to
medium
low. The broth should maintain a gentle
simmer.
While the broth simmers, in a
large pot over medium heat, heat one tablespoon of the oil. Add the sausage
and cook until lightly browned,
about five minutes. Leave the sausage in the
pot and pour off all but
one tablespoon of the drippings. Reserve additional
drippings. Add the
onion, celery and bell pepper to the sausage in the pot
and cook, over
medium
heat, until the vegetables soften, eight to 10
minutes. Add
one tablespoon
of the reserved drippings and sprinkle the
mixture
with the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until the flour is
completely
incorporated, one to two minutes.
Remove the cobs from the broth and discard. Measure the broth.
If you
have less than three cups, add as much water as necessary
to measure three
cups. To the sausage and vegetables in the pot,
add the broth, reserved
corn
kernels, potatoes, crawfish and salt and
pepper to taste and bring to a
boil. Reduce the heat to medium low,
so the soup just barely boils, and
cook
until the potatoes are tender,
10 to 15 minutes.
While the soup simmers, in a
small pan over medium heat, heat the
cream
just until bubbles start to form
around the edge of the pan.
Reduce the heat
to medium-low so the cream does
not boil and cook
until the cream has reduced by half.
Remove the soup from the heat.
Stir in the reduced cream and set
aside
for 20 minutes. Taste and adjust the
seasoning accordingly.
Per serving: 443
calories, 30 grams fat, 116 milligrams cholesterol, 436 milligrams sodium.
© The Times-Picayune. Used with permission
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