Corn, Tomato and Basil Chowder
Updated February 23, 2017
Michael Kraus for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
6 ears corn, shucked
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 pound waxy potatoes (red or Yukon Gold are good), cut into ½-inch cubes
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
Juice of ½ lime
Crème fraîche or sour cream, for serving (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)
46 grams carbs; 18 milligrams cholesterol; 279 calories; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 8 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 727 milligrams sodium; 10 grams protein; 13 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Slice corn kernels off cob and place in a bowl. Run back of a knife along each cob to remove additional corn pulp. Add pulp to bowl; reserve cobs.
- Step 2
In a medium soup pot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in onion, shallot and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Step 3
Add broth, reserved cobs, 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon salt to pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Immediately reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Add potatoes and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes longer. Remove cobs and discard.
- Step 4
Stir in corn kernels and pulp, tomatoes, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes more. Stir in the basil and lime juice. Turn off heat and let soup cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm with a dollop of crème fraîche or sour cream, if using.
Private Notes
Comments
This was a yummy recipe for a cool summer evening. I think some jalapeño diced in would give it a nice kick. Also, I have hearty eaters, so maybe crab, shrimp, or chicken to up the protein.
This is one of the most delicious soups I've ever had. I added a bit of jalapeño, and also cooked the tomatoes for just a very short time so they wouldn't fall apart. Served it alongside tomato sandwiches on excellent sourdough. Just fabulous.
Made this today per the recipe, but I did use fresh garden tomatoes versus cherry tomatoes. I was going to add bacon, but when I finished making per directions, it was so delicious that the bacon was not needed and I think it would have detracted from the freshness of the corn, tomato and lime. The lime and basil really finished the soup off wonderfully. I am going to husk the remainder of my fresh corn and freeze it, boil the cobs in chicken broth then fix for Saturday supper later in the fall!
Really enjoyed this last evening. Added the basil as garnish along with pickled onions and pickled jalapeños. Had I remembered to get scallions at the market, I’d have added those, too. This morning I whizzed a little of the leftovers with the stick blender (great suggestion!), added chiffonade of basil and froze individual portions for wintry days not so far in the future.
Great soup, well worth the effort ( and by effort I’m mostly referring to slicing the kernels and pulp off the cobs which is kind of a tedious job in my opinion). One thing I would do differently next time would be to separately boil the cobs with water broth, and salt and then remove the cobs and add that broth to the pan where I’ve sautéed the onions, shallot, and garlic. When I did it as described in the recipe, it meant I was plucking the cobs out with a lot of of that delicious buttery onion broth, as well as bits of the aromatics, clinging to them. I felt compelled to scrape them off in order not to waste that.
Does the corn really need to cook for 20 minutes? I cook fresh sweet corn on the cob for no more than 5 minutes. I’m thinking I’ll add the corn kernels at the very end.