Corn Fennel Chowder Recipes

COLD-DAY CORN CHOWDER

Steps:

• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a medium Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
• Drain or spoon off all but 3 tablespoons of the fat in the pot. Add the onion, bell pepper and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables just begin to become tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the flour, thyme and bay leaves. Stir the flour into the vegetables to make a paste and coat them evenly. Cook a minute or two to get rid of the raw flour flavor. Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, 15 minutes.
• Uncover the pot and add the potato, half-and-half and all but 1/2 cup of the corn. Simmer, uncovered, until the potato is very tender but not yet falling apart, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the reserved ½ cup corn and cook, stirring, until warmed through, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Discard the bay leaves from the soup. Puree about 1 cup of the soup in a food processor or blender and stir it back into the soup. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the cooked bacon and buttered corn kernels.

CORN AND FENNEL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the potato, thyme, bay leaf, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper and cook, stirring, until the potatoes are well coated, 2 to 3 minutes more. Pour in the broth and 1 cup water and bring to a simmer.
• Add the corn and fennel and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a simmer. Remove from the heat and let cool at least 5 minutes. Remove and discard the thyme and bay leaf and carefully puree until smooth with a handheld immersion blender or in 2 to 3 batches in a blender (do not fill the blender more than halfway full per batch).
• Stir in the heavy cream and reheat the soup if necessary. Adjust the consistency and seasoning with water, salt and pepper.
• Serve hot sprinkled with corn kernels and fennel fronds.

GRANDMA'S CORN CHOWDER

Steps:

• Place the bacon in a large pot over medium-high heat, and cook until crisp. Drain and crumble, reserving about 2 tablespoons drippings in the pot.
• Mix potatoes and onion into the pot with the crumbled bacon and reserved drippings. Cook and stir 5 minutes. Pour in the water, and stir in corn. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cover pot. Simmer 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until potatoes are tender.
• Warm the half-and-half in a small saucepan until it bubbles. Remove from heat before it boils, and mix into the chowder just before serving.

CORN AND FENNEL RAGU

Steps:

• Pour the olive oil into a large skillet and place over medium-high heat. When hot, add the shallots and fennel. Season with cumin, mustard seeds and a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the corn and saute until tender, about 4 minutes more. Add 1 1/4 cups water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 8 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the corn mixture and liquid to a blender and puree. Strain the puree pressing the solids; discard the solids. Pour the corn puree back into the skillet and simmer to a ragu consistency, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with fennel fronds and serve with the gently smoked salmon.

SUMMER CORN CHOWDER WITH BACON

Steps:

• Sauté bacon in large pot over medium-high heat until crisp and brown. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Add corn, fennel, zucchini, and potatoes to drippings in pot; sauté 5 minutes. Add 3 cups broth and simmer uncovered over medium heat until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer 3 cups soup to blender. Holding blender top firmly, puree until smooth. Return puree to soup in pot. Stir in cream and cayenne. Bring chowder to simmer, thinning with more broth if too thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle chowder into bowls and sprinkle with bacon and chives.

FRESH CORN CHOWDER

Steps:

• Cut corn off the cob; set aside. In a large saucepan, saute onion and celery in butter until tender. Add the potatoes, water, bouillon, thyme, pepper and corn. Bring to a boil. , Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Combine flour and milk until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

SHRIMP CHOWDER WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• 1. Peel the shrimp, reserving the shells. (It is impractical to devein small shrimp, but if you are using the larger ones, I recommend that you do.) Split the shrimp lengthwise in half down the back, cover, and refrigerate until needed.
• 2. Remove the fronds (lacy top) from the fennel, coarsely chop, and reserve for garnish, covered and refrigerated. Trim off the tops and tough outer layers of the fennel and coarsely chop, reserve for the stock. Quarter the fennel bulb lengthwise, cut away the core, and cut very thinly across into 1/4- to 1/3-inch slices.
• 3. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the 2 crushed garlic cloves to a 10- to 12- inch high-sided skillet or sauté pan and heat over medium-high heat until the garlic begins to brown. Add the shrimp shells and sauté for 5 minutes, or until the shells turn red and are very aromatic. Add the fennel trimmings, the wine, and water, bring to a simmer, and simmer for 20 minutes. Season lightly with salt. Strain the stock; you should have 3 1/2 cups.
• 4. Heat a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot over low heat and add the bacon. Once it has rendered a few tablespoons of fat, increase the heat to medium and cook until the bacon is a crisp golden brown. Pour off all the fat except 1 tablespoon, leaving the bacon in the pot.
• 5. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and chopped garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the onion, sliced fennel, fennel seeds, and optional crushed red pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 10 minutes, until the onion and fennel are softened but not browned.
• 6. Add the potatoes and the reserved shrimp stock. The stock should just barely cover the potatoes; if it doesn't, add enough water to cover. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and cook the potatoes vigorously for about 8 minutes, until they are soft on the outside but still firm in the center. If the broth hasn't thickened lightly, smash a few potatoes against the side of the pot and cook a minute or two longer to release their starch.
• 7. Reduce the heat to medium, add the tomatoes, and simmer for 5 minutes more. Stir in the shrimp and cook for 1 minute, then remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cream. Let sit for 10 minutes while the shrimp finish their slow cooking. Taste the chowder and season with black pepper and more salt if needed. If you are not serving the chowder within the hour, let it cool a bit, then refrigerate; cover the chowder after it has chilled completely. Otherwise, let it sit at room temperature for up to an hour, allowing the flavors to meld.
• 8. When ready to serve, reheat the chowder over low heat; don't let it boil. Ladle into cups or bowls, making sure that the shrimp, fennel, potatoes, and bacon are evenly divided. Sprinkle with the reserved chopped fennel fronds.