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April 20, 2010

Potato, Corn, and Leek Chowder


















We now interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you this chowder. By regularly scheduled program I mean India blog posts. I know, and just when I promised some actual food from India! Thank you for your patience, I will make good on my promise in the next couple of days.

No need to adjust your screen, you are actually seeing chowder in late April. Before you click away in hopes to find a more springtime-appropriate meal, stick with me and give this a chance. This is a very light chowder, and thanks to the roasted corn kernels and vegetarian chicken-flavored broth it has a rich buttery flavor without the presence of dairy at all. Rather than being made creamy by whole milk and flour, a touch of rice milk is stirred in at the end for a light creamy finish.

And how about the leeks? They might seem like they are behind the scenes, but they really are a headliner in this chowder. In fact, I built this recipe around the leeks. Tinned Tomatoes is hosting this month's No Croutons Required blogging event. The challenge this month is to create a soup or salad featuring veggies from the allium family (onions, shallots, leeks, garlic, etc.). I knew right away that I wanted to create a soup featuring leeks, so without any specific soup in mind I went out and picked up some. For nearly two weeks the leeks peeked out at me from the shelf in the fridge before I decided that chowder was their calling.

I am not the first person to put potatoes, corn, and leeks together in a creamy broth and call it chowder, although this might be the first vegan version out there. This is a great single pot meal that comes together in 30 minutes or less. I am fortunate enough to have access to frozen roasted corn at a local Trader Joe's, but if you don't have access plain frozen corn will do just fine.

















Potato, Corn, and Leek Chowder
Serves 4

2 leeks, white and light green parts, halved and sliced
3 ribs of celery
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups chopped potatoes (bite sized pieces), I used yukons
2 cups frozen roasted corn kernels
3 cups water
2 "Not-Chick'n" bouillon
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp rubbed sage
1-1/2 tsp dried mustard
1 tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 bay leaf
2 cups rice milk
salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1 tbsp oil in large soup pot and stir in leeks. Saute over medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and celery and saute for another 2 minutes. Mix in everything else except for the rice milk, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium low and simmer until the potatoes are tender--about 15 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf, and stir in the rice milk, salt, and pepper, and serve.

17 comments:

  1. Oh this soup is perfect... It just became winter all over again in LA with all this rain.

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  2. Perfect timing with your soup. We are getting rain today and most of the next week. Soup would be perfect for a cool rainy night.

    Alicia

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  3. Ah this sounds so good actually. I know it's warmer now, but I've seriously been wanting soup lately.

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  4. In the Pacific NW we're still having colder, rainy days so this chowder would be much appreciated with some homemade bread. I've never cooked with leeks before. Gotta keep an eye out fort hose when they go on sale.

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  5. I eat soup all year round, especially light soups like this! I'm not sure who decided soup was a winter food, but they were wrong.

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  6. Soup is delicious year-round, Sarah! :)

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  7. That soup looks really pretty! I eat soup all year, it is too good to miss out on:)

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  8. Hmm...I just bought leeks to make a carrot soup, but maybe I'll make this instead! I love chowder any time of the year!

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  9. I LOVE leek and potato soups! And you just cannot go wrong with roasted corn in my opinion. Nice one!

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  10. ooooh, both dan & i are all about the leeks! our csa starts in just 2 weeks and i can't wait to get my hands on some! totally gonna have to try your potato-corn-'n-leek chower - what's not to love with an ingredient list like this?!?! yay!

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  11. yum - very glad you managed to use your leeks - this soup is lovely and just right for our autumn weather - I've never seen roasted corn for sale but I find it quite easy to roast the corn in the oven

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  12. It is still very chilly here, though it is spring, so this chowder is very much welcome... mmm... :o)

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  13. Looks so good.... and I agree that soup is a year round thing!

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  14. Yum! That roasted corn from TJ's would totally make this soup- I can practically taste it now. And I see no problem with eating it cold... Sounds like the perfect thing on a warm spring day! :)

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  15. As a New England-er I can eat chowder anytime! :)

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