East Coasters and purists, avert your eyes. This fast, easy, after-school ‘chowder’ uses creamed corn to fill in for the roux and cream that go into the real thing
By Sonia Verma
Preparation Time: 5
Cooking Time: 25
Yield: 5 big servings
Description:
This hearty, smoky soup is a favourite in my house, and it is so easy, I can start throwing it together pretty late — we're talking AFTER afterschool snack time — and know that we'll still eat dinner on time.
All the ingredients are always on hand (I keep slices of bacon in the freezer) and the only real hands-on time is spent dicing the onion and potatoes while the bacon crisps. The rest of it takes care of itself — just dump, stir, boil, then simmer.
I use an onion where the original Chatelaine recipe calls for a leek, and tend to eyeball all the other amounts of ingredients. And I add those tiny precooked salad shrimp for a hit of protein.
Basically, this soup is idiot-proof. You could class it up by using bigger, fresher shrimp, but my kids like the teeny "shrimpies," and I like their convenience and price.
Ingredients:
6 slices of bacon
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 TBsp. olive/canola/some kind of cooking oil
2 potatoes, diced
1 cup (or one can, drained) corn kernels. Frozen is fine
1-1/2 cups broth of your choice
1-1/2 cups milk
1 398ml can creamed corn
1/2 tsp dried thyme, or a sprig of fresh thyme
half a bag of frozen precooked salad shrimp (optional)
frozen peas (optional, but excellent for cooling your kid’s chowder fast))
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 TBsp. olive/canola/some kind of cooking oil
2 potatoes, diced
1 cup (or one can, drained) corn kernels. Frozen is fine
1-1/2 cups broth of your choice
1-1/2 cups milk
1 398ml can creamed corn
1/2 tsp dried thyme, or a sprig of fresh thyme
half a bag of frozen precooked salad shrimp (optional)
frozen peas (optional, but excellent for cooling your kid’s chowder fast))
In a large pot, cook the bacon until crisp, then remove from pot.
Pour out the bacon fat, and add the oil.
Sauté the onion over low until tender, 1-2 minutes.
Add potato, broth, milk, creamed corn, corn kernels and thyme. Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
If using frozen precooked shrimp, add after potatoes are cooked, and heat back to a simmer.
Crumble bacon into pot — or over individual bowls — and serve.
If using peas, drop a handful of frozen peas into your child's bowl so they can start eating that much sooner.
