(Lighter) Corn Chowder with Pepper Jack Cheese

I think of all the peak food seasons in the summer, I look forward to corn season the most.  It lasts such a short time and there is really no substitute during the rest of the year that even comes to close to the amazing taste of fresh sweet corn.  I grew up eating a lot of corn in the late summer months, but never really ventured far from eating it straight off the cob with a bit of butter, salt, and pepper.  We didn't need to try anything else when it was so good that way!

When I saw a fresh corn soup on Oh My Veggies a couple of months ago, I commented that I'd never heard of a warm corn soup, and I think I was the only one who hadn't!  Once I thought about it though, I realized that these warm corn soup lovers were probably on to something amazing that I'd been missing out on for far too long.  I tested it out one night by basically dumping some corn and milk in a pot then blending it, and it was delicious.  Then I imagined how much better it would be with a bit of wine, chicken stock, potatoes, and cheese to make a chowder, and got right on it!

I found a recipe for a white cheddar corn chowder on Whole Living that didn't use butter, flour, or heavy cream, but still allowed for a bit of indulgence with potatoes and a small amount of cheddar cheese (which I replaced with pepper jack for a bit of spice).  Even though it was much lighter than say, Ina Garten's cheddar corn chowder with bacon, half-and-half, butter, and tons of cheese, it didn't taste light at all!  This was so thick, rich, and comforting, but with the bright summer flavours of fresh corn.  It was one of those meals where I could not wait to eat leftovers and was so sad when it was gone.  I cannot believe I've been missing out on corn soup for so long - don't miss out like me and make this while fresh corn is still in season!

P.S. Don't judge this dish  by the photos! It's hard enough to photograph soup but I took these in poor lighting late in the evening - trust me that it's a lot better than it looks here!

Corn Chowder with Pepper Jack Cheese

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living via Whole Living

Serving sizes for soup are difficult to estimate, but I’d say this makes about 3 main course servings or 6 side dish servings

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, diced

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc)

2-1/2 cups peeled and chopped (1/2 inch pieces) yellow potatoes (about 3 medium potatoes)

2 cups low-sodium fat-free chicken broth

1 cup skim milk

3 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 3-4 ears of corn)

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 oz pepper jack cheese, grated

Additional grated pepper jack cheese for topping, if desired

Directions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until softened, stirring often, about 4 minutes.  Add the celery and cook until tender, about 4 minutes.  Add the coriander and cumin and stir for about 30 seconds.  Add the wine, raise heat to medium-high, and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, for about 2 to 3 minutes. 

Add the potatoes, chicken broth, and milk, and bring to a boil, skimming any foam that forms on the surface.  Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Add corn and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Remove soup from heat.  Transfer 2 cups of soup to a blender, let cool slightly, remove the plastic stopper from the blender lip and cover with a paper towel, then puree.  You can puree a larger portion of the soup if you prefer a smoother soup.  Return the puree to the rest of the soup in the saucepan, stir, and reheat if necessary.  Add grated cheese and stir until mixed in.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour into bowls and top with additional grated cheese and pepper if desired. 

Guinness & Dubliner Cheese Soup

I wanted to share a savory recipe for St. Patrick's Day along with my mint chocolate cookie bars, not because I think a lot of people cook something festive on March 17th, but because it was an excuse to cook with beer, which I've been learning is great in recipes!

It took me a very long time to like beer, but I've now reached the point where I choose craft beer over most other drinks. I started with pale ales and Belgian beers, then finally learned to appreciate hops, but am still trying to enjoy dark beers and stouts. Guinness is probably one of the last beers I would choose to drink, but one of the first beers I'd choose for cooking! It adds great depth to chocolate desserts, and now I've learned that it's also great in savory recipes like this soup.

While most cheese and beer soups are made with cheddar cheese and a pale ale, I wanted to make mine more Saint Patricksy (yes that's a word) by using Dubliner cheese and Guinness stout. According to Wikipedia, Dubliner cheese "combines the sharpness of mature cheddar, the nuttiness of Swiss cheese, and the bite of Parmesan", and it also melts well, so I thought it would be great in a Guinness cheese soup. If you can't find it though, any sharp cheddar cheese should work well.

The first time I made this, I actually used some Guinness cheddar cheese that I'd found on sale. It definitely gave the soup a strong Guinness flavour that was really complex and interesting, but you'd have to be a big Guinness lover to enjoy the soup! Yesterday I tried it with the Dubliner cheese and it was much milder and the Guinness was much harder to detect, which I liked. The soup is cheesy, thick, and comforting, without actually being too unhealthy compared to other cheese soups because it uses milk instead of cream and I cut the amount of cheese way down since I was using a strong tasting cheese. This was an easy dinner to prepare and Ryan and I both really loved it. Ryan wished there was a bit more of a Guinness flavour, so I suggested that you could probably add a splash of Guinness at the end if you want the stout taste to be stronger, since a lot of it gets cooked down earlier on.

This soup would be perfect for St. Patrick's Day, but I will actually be missing it this year, because as I write this post, I'm at the airport waiting to board a flight to Singapore! I'll be away for a couple weeks, spending most of my time at a research conference in Singapore, then escaping to Thailand for just a few days of real vacation before I head back home. I still hope to find time to post a couple times while I'm away, but if I'm slow to reply to comments or visit other blogs, I apologize in advance!

Guinness & Dubliner Cheese Soup

Adapted from Rick Tramonto and Williams Sonoma

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 rib of celery, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Guinness stout (or more for stronger flavour)
1 cup fat-free, low sodium chicken broth (beef broth would be a good substitute!)
1 cup milk
1-1/2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons mustard powder
1/4 pound (or 1 cup loosely packed shredded) Dubliner cheese (or sharp cheddar cheese if desired)
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrot and cook until softened, stirring often, about 15-20 minutes. If vegetables start to brown too quickly (before they’re softened), add a splash of chicken broth to the pan. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the flour and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3-4 minutes. Add the beer and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. The mixture will be very thick and sticky at this point. Add the chicken broth, milk, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard powder, and let simmer over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. The soup will thicken and reduce slightly as it simmers.

Remove the pot from the heat and transfer soup mixture to a blender. Make sure the blender is only about 1/3 to 1/2 full and remove the centre piece of the lid to allow steam to escape (but cover with a cloth or towel to avoid splatters). Puree until smooth, then transfer back to the pot.

With the pot over medium-low heat, add the shredded cheese by the handful, stirring constantly until cheese is melted and soup is smooth. Taste, and if a stronger Guinness flavour is desired, add a splash of beer to the soup before serving. Season with salt and pepper if desired and serve immediately.