With the cold weather in Boston this week, I whipped up a batch of homemade bone broth yesterday and decided to make a really heavy, hearty, and delicious corn chowder for the family to enjoy today after frolicking in the snow.
To be honest, this is the first time I have made corn chowder from scratch. I have made a lot of food from scratch so I knew what flavors I was looking for and I was a little hesitant I might get this one wrong.
But it turned out delightful.
While the girls were gearing up to go build an igloo, this little man {who is never cold, even in a winter vortex} decided to join me in the kitchen.
We started out with some bacon grease I had saved from the weekend, 2 T of butter, and some sliced onions. He stirred this until they were translucent.
While he did this, I cubed some potatoes. I did all that we had which was two different varieties and about 1-1.5 pounds of potatoes.
I added 1/2 cup of sourdough starter at full hydration to the onion mix, and we stirred it constantly so it wouldn’t burn. Once it was fully mixed in, I added 4.5 cups of my homemade broth. {Note: see recipe below for how to make this without sourdough starter}
I added the potatoes and also used 32 ounces of corn, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp paprika.
Meanwhile, I diced up some ham leftover from my husband’s birthday as a fun and unique way to use it up and not let it go to waste.
Soon, I was left to make my chowder recipe without help as everyone went out to play. But just as well. I let everything boil until the potatoes were tender enough to poke with a fork.
Then with an immersion blender, I blended up about half of the soup, pulverizing the biggest chunks.
Finally, I added in cream. It was 1 cup but I added a bit of corn starch before adding to the stock pot so that it would be about the right consistency and thickness.
Chunky Corn Chowder with Ham and Sourdough
A hearty soup for winter or a nice appetizer with fresh summer corn.
Ingredients
- * 4 Slices of leftover ham, diced {Sub with 8 oz of bacon if desired}
- * 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- * 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
- * 1/2 cup sourdough {Sub with 1/4 cup of flour if you don't have it and increase liquid by 1/4 cup}
- * 4 cloves garlic, minced
- * 4.5 cups chicken broth
- * 32 ounces of fresh, canned, or frozen corn
- * 1 lb. potatoes cubed or sliced
- * 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- * 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- * salt and pepper, to taste
- * 1 cup heavy cream with 1/2 tsp corn starch added for thicker consistency
Instructions
- Melt 1 Tbsp of bacon grease in the pot. Add butter and melt over medium heat. If you don't have grease on hand, more butter will do.
- Add onions and cook about 5-7 minutes, until soft and translucent, at this time, add garlic and sourdough and cooking and stirring until just combined. Be careful not to burn.
- Pour in Chick Broth or water and increase heat. Add in corn, potatoes, thyme, paprika, and salt and pepper. Stir and bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Stur and heat until the potatoes are cooked.
- Use an immersion blender to blend about half the soup until smooth.
- Add in corn startch and heavy cream to the soup base to make a really hearty chowder.
- You can mix in ham, use it as just a garnish, or both.
- Top with green onions or chives as desired.
Notes
- A normal blender can be used with caution or you can leave it super chunky!
- wait to add corn starch if you are not sure what your desired consistency is.
- This can be made in a pressure cooker. Simply Saute the onions as previously stated, add in all ingredients except cream and toppings, and pressure cook for 8-10 minutes.
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