Poblano Corn Chowder

I’m the only one I know who picks a 95 degree day to make corn chowder.  To my defense; when I bought the corn the other day, I didn’t realize we were going to have a heat wave in Southern California that rivaled mid summer.  But that’s what happened.  Knowing that my house was going to be a pressure cooker didn’t stop me from my task.  I had a recipe in my head and I had to go forward.

This delicious soup, (my wife said it was one of the best I’ve ever made) gets a little kick from roasted poblanos and some added smokiness from a little bacon, but the real star is the fresh corn.  Normally, vegetable stock is used but the cobs have so much flavor that I decided to boil them down to extract their flavor and some starch.  I must say, I agree with my wife…this was one of the best soups to come out of this kitchen.  Enjoy!

I started by microwaving 6 ears of corn (3 at a time) in their husks for 3 minutes.  I removed the husks and silk then cut the kernals off the cobs and set them aside.  I cut the cobs in half.

I roasted 2 poblanos (sometimes incorrectly labeled in stores as pasillas) on my grill until the skin was well blackened and blistered then covered them in a bowl to steam.  After 15 minutes, I removed the skin and seeds then diced them and set aside.

I placed the cobs in a large pot and covered with water (about 9 cups) then brought it to a boil.  I reduced the heat slightly and let them go at a rolling boil for about 25 minutes.  This would be my stock.

I diced up 2 thick slices of bacon, 1 onion and peeled 3 garlic cloves which I later minced through a garlic press.

I added the bacon to a heavy bottomed stock pot over medium heat and cooked the bacon for about 5 minutes to render the fat but without crisping it up too much.

I added 1 tablespoon butter to the bacon then added the onion, diced poblanos and minced garlic and cooked over medium heat for 10 minutes until very soft.

I added 1 packed teaspoon fresh thyme leaves and cooked for 1 minute.  I then added 3 tablespoons flour and stirred to combine cooking for 2 minutes to make a roux.

I poured in 6 cups of the reserved corn cob water and added 2 peeled/diced russet potatoes then brought it to a boil.  After it reached a boil, I added 1 1/2 cups whipping cream and 1/2 cup whole milk and brought to a boil again.  I let it boil for 8 minutes, stirring frequently.  Make sure you don’t wander off while doing this and try to answer emails.  I did, and mine just started boiling over when I caught it.  That’s what I get for muti-tasking.  After 8 minutes, I added the reserved corn kernals, seasoned with 4-5 pinches of kosher salt and several good twists of the pepper mill then let it simmer on low for 20 minutes.

This was the result…absolutely amazing.  Enjoy!