Cold Corn Chowder

From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Ingredients

Makes 4-6 small servings.

• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium potato weighing about 4-6 oz., peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
• About 2 cups fresh corn cut from the cob (3 skinny ears is roughly 2 cups). Keep the cobs.
• 2 cups gluten-free chicken stock (use vegetable stock to make this recipe vegetarian)
• ¾ cup light cream
• Bay leaf
• Several sprigs of fresh thyme or ½ tsp. dried thyme
• Fresh chives to garnish

Instructions

1. Heat the butter and oil in a saucepan large enough to fit the cobs lying flat (or else you have to cut the cobs to fit size of saucepan)
2. Add the onion and cook gently for a few minutes. Try not to let it brown.
3. Add the potatoes, corn niblets, corn cobs, bay leaf, fresh thyme and chicken stock.
4. Bring to a gentle boil, then turn down to a simmer and cook, covered, for 20–30 minutes until potatoes are totally soft and disintegrating.
5. Remove bay leaf and cobs from the soup. If you used fresh thyme, try and remove the stringy stems.
6. Purée the soup. (I like to purée the soup still in the saucepan using an immersion blender.)
7. Stir in the light cream, let the soup cool and then refrigerate for several hours. It is wonderful hot as well.
8. Serve garnished with some fresh chives. A spoon of corn niblets makes a great texture contrast as well when serving.

Tips and Alternatives

• Don’t use water or fat-free milk in this recipe. The flavor won’t be nearly as great if you do!
• Use vegetable stock in place of chicken stock to make this a vegetarian recipe.