Featured Recipe for September - Corn Chowder with Roasted Red Peppers |
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Corn chowder, made with summer’s sweet corn, is one of the season’s quintessential soups, and the red peppers floating on a toast in middle of each bowl adds a brilliant note of color. 2 red bell peppers Place the red peppers over an open flame or under a broiler, until the skin is blistered, turning several times, about 3 minutes. Remove them to a plastic bag and set aside. When they have cooled, remove and scrape away the charred skin, cut them in half, remove the seeds and the veins and then mince them and set aside. Husk the corn and discard, along with the corn silk. Hold an ear in a bowl, stem end down, and with a sharp knife, cut the kernels off in a downward stroke, cutting as close to the cob as possible, being sure to collect the corn ‘milk’ in the bowl along with the kernels. Repeat with the remaining ears. Set aside two of the cobs for the soup and discard the others. Using a sieve held over a bowl, drain the corn, reserving the milk. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium high heat. When it has melted, add the onion and sauté until soft and nearly translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the reserved corn ‘milk’ and the milk, along with the bay leaf, rosemary, reserved corn cobs, and the salt and pepper. Bring to just below a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer to allow the milk to absorb the flavors, about 30 minutes. Discard the corn cobs. Add half of the corn and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. With an immersible blender, coarsely puree. Add the remaining corn kernels and cook another 4 to 5 minutes. To serve, cover the toasts with a layer of chopped roasted peppers. Ladle the soup into bowls and float a toast on top of each. Serves 4 to 6 |