Spicy & Slightly Decadent Corn Chowder

It is that magical time of year! The time to start warming yourself from the inside out, starting with a big bowl of delicious soup. The corn this autumn has been so fantastic I just had to make a corn chowder to try and push this soup over the edge of deliciousness. I hope you fall for it like I did!

I was inspired by Gina Neely’s recipe which I changed, well… kind of a lot. But I wanted to give her credit! Instead of using a 16 ounce bag of frozen corn I put a small inverted bowl inside a large wide bowl to slice the corn kernels off the cob.

After I did so I ran the back of my knife over the cob to make sure I got every little drop of moisture from the corn to include in the soup.

This is what 16 oz of corn kind of looks like. I think it was around four cobs of corn but feel free to use frozen if that is what you have!

I crisped up 4 slices of chopped turkey bacon in some olive oil in a large soup pot. I finely chopped 1 onion, 3 cloves of garlic and 1/2 a small jalapeno with seeds and ribs removed. If you like it really spicy, keep the ribs and the seeds.

I added a little more oil (turkey bacon is much less greasy than regular bacon) and sauteed the onions for a few minutes on medium heat. I added the garlic and jalapeno for just a minute and seasoned with a little salt and pepper. Then I added 1/4 cup flour and stirred it into the aromatics for around a minute.

I stirred in 3 cups of chicken stock. I added 1 large potato diced into small pieces and simmered for 10 minutes.

I added the 16 oz of corn, a couple of bay leaves and around 1 tsp of fresh chopped thyme.

I also added a little Sriracha hot sauce for additional heat. I simmered the soup for 15 minutes and then removed the bay leaves.

I used a hand immersion blender for this soup which worked perfectly. It broke down the potatoes but left the corn alone. If you like a smoother soup, puree 2/3 of the soup in a blender and then return to the original 1/3 and warm through.

Here comes the decadent part: mascarpone cheese thanks to Tre Stelle! I am getting addicted to this beautiful product which is dangerous, I know! I put in a generous tablespoon into the soup with the pot off the heat to melt throughout.

If you do not have mascarpone cheese, feel free to add whatever addition you prefer or omit completely, this soup is already pretty darn creamy!

I topped it with some grated old cheddar, crispy bacon, chopped green onions and a small dollop of low fat sour cream. What a beautiful soup! So filling, it can easily be served as a meal with a chunk of homemade bread. I am a wimp when it comes to heat but made this way, there is just enough to give true depth of flavour and warm up your belly without burning off your tongue.

Reg loved this soup as well and I will definitely be making it on a regular basis. This is our kind of comfort food on a cold day and we have many of those ahead!