sunday’s soups… corn and crab chowder with basil
i’m sure i’ve said this before, but leaving tomas alone when grocery shopping can sometimes be a little dangerous! if there is a sale, it doesn’t matter what it is – he has to go for it. with this in mind, when he came home with his mom the other day with a 40lb box of fresh corn on the cob because they got a really good deal on it, i wasn’t surprised. while i LOVE corn, my mind was already onto fall vegetables so i had to back track a bit and figure out what to do with all this corn!
a large grocery bag full in still in the fridge awaiting its fate, tomas’s mom shucked some and put it in a tupperware for easy access, and i decided to make a chowder i had made in culinary school that would require me to use up two whole pounds! i am also going to make another soup today if i have time that is a chicken and corn tortilla soup (we are soup freaks around here!).
i did forget one ingredient at the store – heavy cream, so substituted milk instead so it wasn’t quite as creamy as i had remembered, but delicious none the less! you could do the same if you wanted to cut back on the calories.
makes about 8-10 servings
1/2 cup olive oil
1.5 cups sweet onion, medium dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup flour
3.5 qt mild fish or chicken stock (i bough fish stock from the store and then used a little bit of chicken stock as well)
1 cup dry white wine
2 lb yukon gold potatoes, diced
2 bay leaves
2 lbs fresh corn kernals
1/2 cup fresh basil, shredded
2 lbs crab meat
1 pt milk, hot
1 cup heavy cream, hot
1/2 t cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
heat the oil in a stock pot over medium-high heat. add the onions and garlic and saute until soft, but not browned. add in the flour. allow the roux to cook for about 5 minutes over low heat (do not let it burn), then slowly add in the stock, using a whisk to mix it in thoroughly so you don’t leave any clumps of flour left behind.
add in the wine, potatoes, and bay leaf and bring the liquid to a boil. simmer unti the potatoes are soft. add the corn and shredded basil and return the soup to a simmer. once simmering, add the crabmeat and stir in the hot milk and heavy cream. stir to mix thoroughly then add cayenne and season with salt and pepper to taste. when the soup is ready, remove the bay leaf and serve.
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