Potato Corn Chowder

Potato Corn Chowder with Bacon and Roasted Poblano Peppers

This creamy potato corn chowder is packed with vegetables and spices, and of course, bacon. If you're a vegetarian, or simply interested in making a meal that doesn't include any meat, just leave the bacon out and add a bit more cumin to add some additional smokiness. 

I usually make corn chowder towards the end of the summer when the corn fields close to our house are bursting with fresh sweet corn, and every farmer's market is overflowing with it. That  fresh sweet corn is almost tender enough to eat raw and so full of flavor that it needs little besides a bit of salt and pepper and maybe some butter. The frozen stuff just doesn't compare.

And yet, I don't want to relegate those short summer weeks to the only time of the year when I can make corn chowder. I find myself craving it's brightnes in the dead of winter, when we're still months away from fresh local produce. So, I'm grateful for frozen corn, which allows me to make delicious corn chowder any time of the year.

Potato Corn Chowder is filling enough to not need any accompaniment, but is soooo good with Smoked Gouda and Bacon Jalapeños Biscuits.

They're slightly crisp on the outside, pillow-soft on the inside, and bursting with spicy, cheesy flavor. Start to finish, they’ll be on your table in under 30 minutes, including the baking time, making them a reasonable treat for many weeknights.

Weekly Meal Plans that include Potato Corn Chowder:

• Weekly Winter Meal Plan #4

Used in this recipe:

Any heavy bottomed sauce pan will work fine for cooking this chowder, but if you don’t have a dutch oven, I encourage you to invest in one. They are extremely useful and will last for years. Mine generally gets used at least once a week, often much more than that.

NOTE: If you're making this as a part of Weekly Winter Meal Plan #4, use the poblano peppers and onion that you roasted earlier this week as well as the ¾ cup green enchilada sauce you reserved when making Enchiladas Verdes.

Potato Corn Chowder

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• Author: RebeccaBlackwell
• Prep Time: 60 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 6 servings

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Ingredients

• 3 poblano peppers
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into quarters
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 lb (16 oz) thick sliced bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 red bell peppers, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1-2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
• 1 ½ lbs (24 oz) frozen corn
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¾ cup Roasted Tomatillo Sauce OR prepared tomatillo salsa (I love Herdez Salsa Verde)
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• A few dashes of hot sauce (Optional. My Favorite is Merf's Electric Lime Sauce.)
• Croutons, for serving (optional)

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Instructions

1. Preheat your oven's broiler and position a rack in the top position inside the oven.
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper and lay the poblano peppers and quartered onion on the sheet.
3. Broil until the tops of the peppers are at least 90% black. Remove from the oven and turn all the peppers and the onions over and repeat on the other side. Remove from the oven, dump the peppers and onions in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and allow to rest until cool enough to handle.
4. When cool, peel the skin from the peppers, discarding the skin, stem and seeds. Chop the peppers and onions into 1-inch pieces.
5. Add the olive oil to a large, heavy bottom saucepan or dutch oven and place over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate or bowl lined with paper towels to drain.
6. Remove all but 2-3 tablespoon of fat from the sauce pan and place back over medium heat. Add the diced red peppers and cook, stirring frequently until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, cumin, coriander, chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Sauté, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes to toast the spices.
7. Add the chicken broth, turn the heat up to high, and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes, onions, and poblano peppers to the boiling broth and cook until the potatoes are tender, 8-10 minutes.
8. While the potatoes cook, reserve about 1 cup of the corn and put the rest in a blender with the cream and puree.
9. When the potatoes are tender, add the pureed corn and the whole corn kernels to the chowder. Turn the heat down to low and cook just until the corn is heated through, about 3 minutes.
10. Stir in the salsa verde and hot sauce (if using). Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Add reserved bacon and chopped cilantro, and serve with croutons if desired.