by Millie Bentley
Greetings. This week I am sharing a recipe that Geof, Nancy and I whipped up a few years back. They had a recipe for corn chowder but couldn’t locate it, and I have a basic chowder recipe tucked inside my head so we collaborated to come up with this wonderful soup:
Corn and Shrimp Chowder
1 pound shrimp in shell – raw
2 cans shoepeg (white) corn, drained – save juice, 16 ounces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large potato, peeled and chopped
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (optional)
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 large potato, peeled and finely diced (1/4-inch cubes)
1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half or 2-percent milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Clean shrimp, putting shells in a saucepan. Cut shrimp into small bite-sized pieces. Set aside. Cover shells with two cups water. Cover pot, bring water to boil, reduce heat, simmer 20 minutes, then drain broth and toss shells. Peel and chop a large potato, cover with water in a pot. Cook about 10 minutes or until done. Drain water into shrimp broth.
Drain juice from one can shoepeg corn into shrimp broth. Saute corn in one tablespoon olive oil. Place corn and cooked potato into a food processor and puree. Add some shrimp broth to make it smooth if needed.
Saute chopped bacon in a large pot for two minutes. Add onion and saute another two minutes. Then add red pepper, green bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic. Saute about five minutes.
Next add one can shoepeg corn with liquid, the other potato, peeled and diced, and the shrimp broth. You should have about 2 ½ or 3 inches of liquid above the vegetables. If not, add water. Simmer about 10 minutes. Stir in pureed corn and potatoes and shrimp. Heat until shrimp turns pink. Stir in cream or milk until you reach a good consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat through. Serve with green salad, hot crusty bread and fruit for dessert.
This recipe is definitely a keeper. Until next time, dear friends, vaya con Dios.
