Soup and sourdough make a delicious, classic pairing, especially on a snowy winter evening. When you keep all the ingredients on hand, you can put this straightforward chowder on the table even if that snow turns into a storm.
Onions, garlic and potatoes store well for long periods, whether homegrown or storebought, so it’s worth keeping at least a few of each on hand for a night you don’t want to run to the store. Corn and homemade stock keep well in the freezer in portions easy to drop into this soup. When I harvest corn in late summer, I grill it on the cob and then save those cobs once I cut the kernels loose to freeze. I then cook those cobs into a corn-flavored stock that enhances the frozen kernels.
You could keep cartons or cans of storebought stock in a cupboard instead. These tend to be thicker and saltier than homemade broths, so you may want to replace half of the recipe’s stock with water and taste the chowder before adding more salt. Half-and-half is my go-to coffee creamer, so there’s always some in my fridge ready to splash in, but the soup has plenty of creaminess without it.
This mild chowder benefits from a flavorful garnish like a grilled tomatillo or roasted tomato salsa. You could stir in dried herbs, basil pesto, or roasted pepper puree instead. If you use a light hand with the garnish, you’ll still taste the tang of the sourdough you dip in your bowl. Any homemade sourdough dipper works: pita bread or chips, English muffin or toasted slices of a rustic or sandwich loaf.
Corn and Potato Chowder
Serves 6-8
1 tablespoon butter
1 large onion, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 medium potatoes, scrubbed and diced (about 1-1/2 cups)
6 cups vegetable or corncob stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 cups frozen corn, divided
2/3 cup half-and-half (optional)
6 or more tablespoons salsa verde (optional)
In a stockpot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about five minutes, until it softens. Add the garlic and potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes, until the onion starts to brown. Stir the vegetables often to prevent sticking.
Pour in the stock, add salt and pepper and bring to a low simmer; cook for another 10 minutes, until the potatoes start to pull away from their skins. Stir in 2 cups of frozen corn and cook for three to five minutes to defrost it.
Using an immersion blender or an upright blender in batches, puree the soup to your desired thickness. Add the remaining 2 cups of corn, return the soup to a low simmer and cook for about three minutes; stir in the half-and-half, if desired, and reheat to steaming. Taste, adjusting the seasonings as needed, before ladling into bowls. Garnish each bowl with a tablespoon of salsa, if desired.
Julie Laing is a Bigfork-based cookbook author and food blogger at TwiceAsTasty.com.