Brothy Corn and Salmon Chowder
Updated August 14, 2026
Joe Lingeman for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
- Ready In
- 40 min
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
1 ½ pounds skinless salmon fillets, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 ¼ teaspoons fine sea or table salt, divided, plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper
3 teaspoons prepared horseradish, divided, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 shallots, chopped
1 pound small Yukon Gold or red potatoes, cut into ½-inch cubes
1 quart vegetable broth
3 cups corn kernels (from 3 to 4 ears of corn, save the cobs), or use frozen corn
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes or cubed plum tomatoes
¼ cup chopped basil, dill or chives (or a combination)
2 to 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, more to taste
Heavy cream or plain yogurt (or both), for serving (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)
33 grams carbs; 78 milligrams cholesterol; 431 calories; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 22 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 599 milligrams sodium; 28 grams protein; 5 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
Season salmon lightly with ½ teaspoon salt and a generous grinding of black pepper, then smear the pieces with 2 teaspoons horseradish. Set aside to marinate briefly.
- Step 2
In a soup pot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add shallots and ¾ teaspoon salt, and cook until golden, about 5 minutes.
- Step 3
Add the potatoes, broth and corn cobs, if you have them, to the pot. Bring liquid to a simmer and let cook for 15 minutes; the potatoes should be almost cooked through.
- Step 4
Remove cobs from the pot if you’ve used them. If you like, you can let the cobs cool and squeeze their liquid back into the pot.
- Step 5
Add salmon, corn kernels and tomatoes to the pot and cook until the salmon is just cooked through and the potatoes are tender, about 5 minutes longer.
- Step 6
Stir in the remaining 1 teaspoon horseradish, herbs and lemon juice. Taste and add more salt, horseradish and lemon, if needed.
- Step 7
Serve in bowls, drizzled with heavy cream or dolloped with a little yogurt (or both), if you like.
Private Notes
Comments
Roast the cobs before using them to make a stock. They provide more flavor then. I learned that from chef Tony Maws of the late, lamented Craigie on Main.
The best way to make corn chowder taste of corn is to poach slightly the corn cobs with intact kernels in plain water. The water will retain a great deal of corn flavor. Remove the cobs, strip the kernels and return the cobs to the water till the water cools. Strain of silk and use that instead of vegetable stock. Proceed with this or any recipe.
Horseradish haters here. Suggestions for a different addition?
Coolish day here so I made this with what I had on hand. Poached some frozen wild salmon filets in order to remove the skin and used the water for the broth. Bag of frozen corn, carrots and asparagus. Baby potatoes from the market. Can of organic diced tomatoes, because my tomato plants are slackin'. In lieu of corn cob broth, I used vegetable broth and added some frozen aguafaba cubes and at the very end added 1/2 c of nutritional yeast. It came out tasting like a summery Manhattan clam chowder
This was simply awesome. Bought butter and sugar corn from a local farm which justifiably says they grow the finest. They do and pick daily. No need in my case to roast the cobs. They added wonderfully sweet flavors to the stock. Some Nice Scottish salmon. Herbs from the yard and just an awesome dish.
Don't make food with ingredients that aren't ones you like to eat since it's pretty easy to find good substitutes using AI chat technology, so try it!