Corn Chowder With Red Pepper Cream

By á-174942

Ingredients

• RED PEPPER CREAM:
• 2 large red bell peppers
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
• 2 tablespoons medium-hot pure ground chili such as pasilla (or 1 tbspn cayenne pepper)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• CHOWDER:
• 1 tablespoon chopped salt pork (or 2 bacon slices, chopped)
• 1/4 cup finely-diced celery
• 1 small yellow onion finely diced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 4 red new potatoes - (abt 3/4 lb total) diced
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
• 2 cups milk heated
• Kernels from 6 ears of corn preferably a
• mixture of white and yellow

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

To make the red pepper cream, preheat a broiler. Halve and seed the bell peppers and place, cut-sides down, on a broiler pan. Broil about 4 inches from the heat source until the skins are evenly blackened and blistered. Remove from the broiler, drape the peppers loosely with aluminum foil and let stand for 10 minutes, then peel away the skins. Coarsely chop the peppers and place in a blender. Add the oregano, ground chili, olive oil and salt. Puree the mixture, drizzling in the cream. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

To make the chowder, in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, cook the salt pork, stirring occasionally, until the fat is rendered and the salt pork is crisp, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the crisp bits to a plate and reserve for another use. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the celery and onion to the fat in the pan and sauté until nearly translucent, 5 to 6 minutes.

Increase the heat to high, add the chicken broth, bring to a boil and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the pan bottom. Add the potatoes, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper and return to a boil. Then cover, reduce the heat to low and cook until the potatoes are just tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the milk and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the corn and simmer just until the corn is tender, 3 to 4 minutes.

To serve, ladle the soup into warmed bowls or cups. Top each serving with a spoonful of the red pepper cream.

This recipe yields 6 to 8 servings.