It’s turned dramatically colder in the last few days. Not really surprising, given that it is the end of October. I refuse to turn on the heat until November 1st though. But, colder weather means warmer food so I made this lovely Bacon Shrimp and Corn Chowder for dinner last night. Now, soup is hard to photograph and chwder even more so, so even though the photo has a whole lot of white in it, you’ll have to trust me that the chowdah has a whole lot of flavor.
Ingredients
6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 small scallions, thinly sliced, with white and green parts divided
2 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 russett potato, diced
2 yukon gold potatoes, larger
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 2/3 cups nonfat milk
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 15-ounce can cream-style corn
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, plus additional to taste
1 pound peeled and deveined Shrimp (any size you like), thawed if frozen
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme (optional)
1/3 cup half-and-half
Directions
Cook bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 6 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the bacon from the pan and transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Lightly pat dry and set aside for serving. Discard all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat.
Add the butter to the pot and let melt. Set aside 1/4 cup of the sliced green onion tops for serving, then add the rest of the green onions. Add the celery, carrot, russett potato and yukon gold potatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are tender (except the yukon golds; they will take a bit longer), about 5 minutes, then stir in the garlic, salt, and black pepper. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Sprinkle the flour over the top of the onion mixture, then cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the milk, a few splashes at a time at first, stirring out any lumps. Stream in the rest of the milk, then add the corn kernels, cream-style corn, and cayenne. Stir and bring to a gentle boil. Let bubble until thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Test the yukon gold potatoes for doneness. Stir in the shrimp and continue cooking just until the shrimp are done, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat, then stir in the thyme, if using, and half-and-half. Serve hot, sprinkled with reserved bacon and scallion greens.
