Corn Fennel Chowder Recipes

CORN & FENNEL CHOWDER

Steps:

• Cook bacon until crisp and chop. Drain/remove bacon fat. Put vegetable oil in large pot and add bacon, onion, fennel, and garlic. Saute for about 2 minutes over medium-high heat. Add flour and stir while cooking for 1 minute. Slowly add stock, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add potatoes and cook until just tender. Add corn and cream and bring to a boil. Season with cayenne sauce, salt, and pepper. Put about half the chowder in the blender and puree. Serve hot.

CORN CHOWDER

Steps:

• Heat the butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme and cook until the vegetables are good and soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Dust the vegetables with flour and stir to coat everything well. Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Add the cream and the potatoes, bring to a boil and boil hard for about 7 minutes, until the potatoes break down (this will help to thicken the soup and give it a good texture).
• Cut the corn kernels off the cob and add to the soup. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the corn is soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the parsley and give it another little drink of olive oil. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

SUMMER CORN CHOWDER WITH BACON

Steps:

• Sauté bacon in large pot over medium-high heat until crisp and brown. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Add corn, fennel, zucchini, and potatoes to drippings in pot; sauté 5 minutes. Add 3 cups broth and simmer uncovered over medium heat until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer 3 cups soup to blender. Holding blender top firmly, puree until smooth. Return puree to soup in pot. Stir in cream and cayenne. Bring chowder to simmer, thinning with more broth if too thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle chowder into bowls and sprinkle with bacon and chives.

SHRIMP CHOWDER WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• 1. Peel the shrimp, reserving the shells. (It is impractical to devein small shrimp, but if you are using the larger ones, I recommend that you do.) Split the shrimp lengthwise in half down the back, cover, and refrigerate until needed.
• 2. Remove the fronds (lacy top) from the fennel, coarsely chop, and reserve for garnish, covered and refrigerated. Trim off the tops and tough outer layers of the fennel and coarsely chop, reserve for the stock. Quarter the fennel bulb lengthwise, cut away the core, and cut very thinly across into 1/4- to 1/3-inch slices.
• 3. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the 2 crushed garlic cloves to a 10- to 12- inch high-sided skillet or sauté pan and heat over medium-high heat until the garlic begins to brown. Add the shrimp shells and sauté for 5 minutes, or until the shells turn red and are very aromatic. Add the fennel trimmings, the wine, and water, bring to a simmer, and simmer for 20 minutes. Season lightly with salt. Strain the stock; you should have 3 1/2 cups.
• 4. Heat a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot over low heat and add the bacon. Once it has rendered a few tablespoons of fat, increase the heat to medium and cook until the bacon is a crisp golden brown. Pour off all the fat except 1 tablespoon, leaving the bacon in the pot.
• 5. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and chopped garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the onion, sliced fennel, fennel seeds, and optional crushed red pepper and sauté, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 10 minutes, until the onion and fennel are softened but not browned.
• 6. Add the potatoes and the reserved shrimp stock. The stock should just barely cover the potatoes; if it doesn't, add enough water to cover. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and cook the potatoes vigorously for about 8 minutes, until they are soft on the outside but still firm in the center. If the broth hasn't thickened lightly, smash a few potatoes against the side of the pot and cook a minute or two longer to release their starch.
• 7. Reduce the heat to medium, add the tomatoes, and simmer for 5 minutes more. Stir in the shrimp and cook for 1 minute, then remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cream. Let sit for 10 minutes while the shrimp finish their slow cooking. Taste the chowder and season with black pepper and more salt if needed. If you are not serving the chowder within the hour, let it cool a bit, then refrigerate; cover the chowder after it has chilled completely. Otherwise, let it sit at room temperature for up to an hour, allowing the flavors to meld.
• 8. When ready to serve, reheat the chowder over low heat; don't let it boil. Ladle into cups or bowls, making sure that the shrimp, fennel, potatoes, and bacon are evenly divided. Sprinkle with the reserved chopped fennel fronds.