2023 wasn’t an easy summer. The alternating heat and heavy rains just exacerbated the existential funk a lot of us have been experiencing. But summer is corn, and corn is summer. This Summer Corn and Ham Chowder is a great fall meal, because it’s hearty enough for a cool autumn evening, but it harkens back to the summer that could have been. You forget about the soul-sapping heat and humidity. You forget about the torrential rains and the flooding. You just taste the essence and ease of summer – blue skies and sun-kissed veg.
It doesn’t matter if you use fresh corn or frozen for this dish. Most recently I used frozen corn (non-GMO, of course!), and it was wonderful – so aromatic and colorful, with the herbs and the carrots. The broth of this Summer Corn and Ham Chowder is golden like the sun because you blend half of the corn with milk, which thickens the soup. This is how it becomes chowder. One thing to note, if there’s any texture left after you’ve blended the corn, you must strain it before adding it to the soup.
Summer Corn and Ham Chowder
Ingredients
- 4 scallions
- 2 carrots
- 4 stalks celery
- 1 pound Yukon Gold or red potatoes
- 1/2 large ham steak
- 2 T butter
- 4 cups corn kernels
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups milk
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
Instructions
- Prep the veg and shred the ham – Chop the scallions, separating the white from the green parts. Dice the carrots and celery. No need to peel the potatoes. Just chop them into bite-sized pieces. Shred the ham steak.
- Sweat the veg – Add the butter to your soup pot and sauté the whites of the scallions, the carrots and celery until they're quite soft.
- Simmer – Add the potatoes, shredded ham, 2 cups of corn kernels, bay leaf, and broth to the pot, and simmer until the potatoes are soft.
- Blend the milk and reserved corn kernels – Blend the remaining 2 cups of corn kernels with the milk until there's no texture left at all. Strain if necessary.
- Allow the chowder to thicken – Add the blended corn and milk mixture to the soup pot. This is when it becomes chowder! Cook for about 10 minutes longer, allowing the chowder to thicken a bit.
- Garnish and serve – Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the scallion greens and the parsley, and serve with big spoons.
I serve this with hunks of sourdough and a green lettuce salad with a bright vinaigrette, but it’s a complete meal on its own, conjuring the ease of the summer that wasn’t.