grilled corn and poblano chowder.

Living in the Midwest isn't always the most exciting experience, but once a year the sun beams down on the mutant grass and makes it a delicious, sweet and perfect Summer treat. I'm of course speaking of corn. Not the commodity corn that I normally wax ethics about, but the fresh nice corn that is made for human consumption. Picked in the morning and hitting the grill that evening.

Once a week for the duration of August and September we buy ourselves a 1/2 dozen ears from a local farmer who sells it $4.00 for 6 or $7.00 for 12. We like to cook them the same way every time. Clean up the husk, removing the extra leaves and any unsightly bits and toss them on the grill. When corn is this fresh they don't need much time. We leave them on the grill 4-5 minutes per side (assuming there are four sides) about 20 minutes in-all. Be careful not to over-cook them. Technically your not really grilling the corn, but steaming it. The husk acts like a cover on a pot and holds the steam in against the corn and cooks it. If you like a little char, after 20 minutes, remove the husks and toss back on the grill to achieve a grilled taste and look.

You could just roll them in some butter and salt and munch away - that's always a great move right off the grill. But, Lo and I only go through two or three ears that first night, leaving us with three or four unused ears. This is a good thing and I give this advice to everyone: buy more corn than you'll eat in one sitting. The corn will stay nicely in your fridge for a week. You can either leave them in the husk and refrigerate or remove the husk and cut off the kernels with a knife and place in a ziploc to refrigerate. I just leave them on the husk and cut off the kernels when I need them.

Here is one of my favorite recipes incorporating that extra corn. Spicy and delicious, this chowder hits the spot everytime.

Corn and Poblano Chowder.

4 ears of corn, grilled and trimmed

2 poblano peppers, roasted, peeled and seeded

1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped

2 small red potatoes, small dice

2 stocks celery ribs, small dice

3 thick cut bacon slices, diced

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 quart vegetable stock

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup heavy cream

First you need to prep your corn and peppers. We grilled the corn as described above and cut the kernels off the cob the following day. The poblano peppers we grilled over high heat until the skin was charred on all sides. The char should cover as much of the pepper as possible - burn the outside. Once charred, place the peppers into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. After about 20 minutes remove the plastic wrap and scrape and peel the charred skins from the peppers, they will peel off with no trouble if charred properly. Cut away the stems, clean out the seeds, dice and reserve along with corn.

Heat a sauce pot over medium heat. Place diced bacon into the pot and cook over medium to medium low heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon is golden brown. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve on paper towels. Add the onion, celery and peppers and potatoes to the pot using the rendered bacon fat to cook. Allow to cook for about 6-8 minutes until the onion is translucent and soft. Add butter and allow to melt. Once melted, add flour and stir over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. You don't want the flour and butter mixture to burn, but you do want to cook the flour taste out.

Add 3/4th's of your corn kernels along with 3 cups of the vegetable stock into the sauce pot with the onion, peppers and roux (butter and flour mixture), stir and allow to cook for 15 minutes. Place entire soup mixture into a blender and blend until you have a nice rustic puree, not too smooth but evenly pureed. Return the blended soup to the sauce pot and add the reserved corn kernels along with the reserved bacon. If the soup is too thick, add a bit more stock. Season to taste and serve.

This soup is great as a vegetarian dish, but also goes nicely with shellfish. Crab, lobster or shrimp go amazing in it. We did a marinated and grilled shrimp the other night with our soup. I would also suggest using some chipotle Tabasco - the flavor is a perfect for this chowder.

Enjoy!

--Jd--