It is still technically summer and we often don’t want to accept what season is rounding the corner, but with the cooler days lately, thoughts may turn to soup. By combining some of summer’s fresh veggie favorites such as sweet corn into a soup, the two seasons can come together nicely during this in-between time offering a taste of summer with a warming effect for the touch of fall in the air.
Seafood chowders were originally made by the people who harvested the seafood using very few ingredients, notes Leslie Glover Pendleton, the author of Simply Shellfish, who contributed this recipe to Real Food. Clams, oysters, or fish were combined with milk and thickened with bread.This chowder may seem thin compared to the flour-thickened chowders to which we’ve become accustomed, she says, but the thinner base allows the flavors of fresh crab and summer vegetables to dominate.
Crab and Corn Chowder
Makes About 8 cups
3 ears cooked fresh corn on the cob
2 cups peeled and diced boiling potatoes (about 3 medium)
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups bottled clam juice
1⁄2 cup water
1 green bell pepper, chopped
11⁄2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 bay leaf
2 cups milk
1⁄2 pound fine-quality crabmeat
1⁄4 cup chopped basil leaves
Cut corn kernels from cobs and, using the back side of the knife, scrape corn pulp from cobs and reserve.
Heat oil and butter in a large heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Add potatoes and onion and cook, stirring, until potatoes can be mashed with a fork, about 10 minutes. Using a fork, mash about half of the potatoes.
Add corn, clam juice, water, green pepper, cumin and bay leaf. Simmer mixture, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add milk, crabmeat, and basil, and heat chowder until it just comes to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition info (per serving): Calories 203 (77 from fat); Fat 9g (sat. 3g); Chol 41mg; sodium 259mg; Carb 24g; Fiber 3g; Protein 10g
