Corn and Crabmeat Chowder

The past weekend took us up the Connecticut River Valley to leaf peep and collect pumpkins and the last of the sweet corn to be found. Our drive out and about was a warm, humid affair. Dark clouds hovered and it threatened rain all day  - the weather was kind of spooky. It was like summer and fall were fighting over the space. Finally, last evening the rains passed through and a cool front has settled over New Hampshire. Looks like fall won the battle; we have a fire in the stove today to take the chill off and I have made a warm soup.

This recipe took four ears of the sweet corn and about a half pound of crabmeat claws ... yum! Soup and salad for dinner this evening. That's perfect, as we ate two rich dinners over the weekend - time to get back to simpler fare.

last of the fresh local butter and sugar corn

 

Crabmeat and Corn Chowder

 

Ingredients:

4 oz. sliced pancetta, cut into slivers

1 tbsp. butter
1 large onion, small dice
4 ears of fresh corn, cut from the cob on a plate so that the sweet juices can be used too
4 small potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ -inch cubes
1 bay leaf
½ tsp. dried thyme flakes
¼ tsp black pepper
2 ½ c. fish stock ( I use Better Than Bouillon concentrated stock and add a generous teaspoonful to hot water)

1 c. half & half

1 c. milk
½ lb. crabmeat (pick through it to remove any shell shards)
Chopped parsley for garnish

 

Making the Soup:

1. Heat a deep soup pot over medium heat and add the prepared pancetta. Stir and brown the pancetta until it is slightly crisped. Remove with a slotted spoon and set it aside.
2. Place the onions in the rendered fat of the pancetta and add the butter, cooking until the onions begin to become golden brown and soft – about 5 minutes.
3. Add the bay leaf, thyme, prepared potatoes and the fish stock. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to simmer and cover the pan. Let the potatoes cook until they begin to soften – about ten minutes.
4. Add the milk, half & half, corn and black pepper and continue to simmer for a few minutes while you pick over the crabmeat.
5. Add the crabmeat  and half the crisped pancetta. Continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the heat off under the pan, leave the cover on and let the soup sit for an hour to let the flavors develop.
6. Add salt and black pepper to taste and reheat the soup gently just before serving.
7. To serve, ladle some soup into a bowl and sprinkle some of the reserved pancetta and chopped parsley over top. Serve with some biscuits or bread and a green salad.

Serves 4 as a meal or 6-8 as a soup course


My soup pot is getting all worked up for the fall and winter fare that it will hold ... what special soups and stews are you putting together these days ?