It’s September and my local Farmer’s Market is booming! With my basket full of squash, corn, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, and jalapeños, I knew something wonderful needed to happen.
When some cooler weather happened our way last week, I decided to make a lightened up, veggied up of one of my all time favorites: Bacon Corn Chowder.
In this version, I used about half the corn, substituting some pureed squash in its place. I also upped the tomatoes and switched the half & half to lowfat milk (though I couldn’t part with my pound of bacon!) The result was so delicious that it was just as much of a treat as its heavier counterpart! With treats like this, bring on the fall weather!
Squash & Corn Chowder
An Amy Original
3 medium ears of corn, husks & silk removed
1 pound of bacon, cut in ½ inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 large yellow squash, pureed
1 pound red skin potatoes, cut in ½ inch pieces
3 small tomatoes, seeded and diced
4 cups vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
2 cups lowfat milk
Cut kernels from corncobs, reserving the cobs.
In a soup pot, cook bacon over medium heat until browned. Transfer bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain. When cool enough to handle, crumble bacon pieces.
Add onion and jalapeño to bacon drippings in soup pot (I usually drain off some of the drippings if there is an excessive amount left over). Stir and cook until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1 minute longer. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper, cook for 1 additional minute.
Stir in the pureed squash, potatoes, corncobs, corn kernels, tomatoes, and broth; heat to boiling. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender; 10-15 minutes.
Discard corncobs from soup pot. Stir in the cooked bacon and milk. Heat through and serve.
Serves 4
Enjoy!
YAmy