Quinoa Corn Chowder

You guys know that soup isn’t something that I make a lot, especially in the summer. The idea of snuggling up with bowl of hot soup when it is 110 degrees outside isn’t even a little bit appealing, is it?

So you know if I tell you that you need to make this one now, I’m pretty serious.

This dish started with the bounty of (organic) corn that was in the refrigerator from our CSA. I love corn but I hate cleaning it, so I am embarrassed to say that I built up a bit of a stash. By the time I got around to using it it was clear that I was going to need to do a little better than just grilling it for the family if it was all going to get used before it expired in the back of the produce bin.

Enter this corn soup, which was inspired by a recipe in Fine Cooking magazine.

The hubs was more than a little skeptical when I told him we were having soup for dinner and really, I got it. He’d just spent two hours with the boys in the pool and a piping hot bowl of soup was hardly what he was hoping for. In the end, though, the amazing taste of this hearty soup won him over – not only did he ask for seconds but he also requested it for breakfast the next day. Score!

If you can’t find fresh organic corn, frozen organic would work just find. I do recommend that you steer clear of conventional corn since it is most always GMO in the US and GMOs have no place in a healthy diet.

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Quinoa Corn Chowder

Author Wendy Polisi

Ingredients

• 8 ounces tempeh bacon or bacon of choice
• 1 yellow onion diced
• 2 celery ribs diced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 5 cups fresh corn kernels
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• ½ teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup plain Greek yogurt dairy or nondairy
• 2 cups milk or unsweetened almond milk
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 russet potato grated

Instructions

1. Spray a large Dutch oven with olive oil spray and cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and allow to drain on a towel. Add onion, celery, red pepper and thyme to the pan and cook for 8 minutes. Add quinoa and corn and cook for 3 minutes longer. Add chipotle chile powder and salt and cook for 30 seconds.
2. In a small bowl whisk together yogurt, milk and cornstarch. Add milk mixture and broth and bring to a boil. Add potato and lower the heat to medium. Cook for 12 minutes, or until the potato is cooked through.
3. Garnish with bacon and serve.

Recipe Notes

Servings 12, Calories 240, Fat 10g, Carbohydrates 25.4g, Protein 13.6g, Cholesterol 24mg, Sodium 745mg, Fiber 2.9g, Sugars 5.6g If you are vegan and soy free just skip the bacon garnish...it will still be delicious.