Crab And Corn Chowder

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This is another one of those recipes conceived when you have nothing on hand and it's dinner time.  You may have noticed that the most recent recipes on Lindaraxa's Garden and the country blog have included crabmeat or corn which is in abundance right now and cheap, cheap, cheap!  This recipe is a byproduct of cleaning the refrigerator before the weekend guests arrived and a cup of leftover crabmeat from last night's crab cakes waiting to be put to good use.  The good news is I am saturated with corn and I have sworn I will not buy another ear, no matter how cheap, until next summer.  We'll see how long that lasts...

You can substitute chicken for the crabmeat, but in my estimation, it's not even close!  This is the one time of the year when crab and corn  are in season and can be bought for a reasonable price.  Actually, the crab is reasonable, the corn they are giving away!  Take advantage of it.

Printable Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

4-6 ears sweet white corn, such as Silver Queen , shucked
OR 3 cups

4 pieces thick-sliced bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 stalks celery chopped fine

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups good fish stock**

2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup white breadcrumbs, firmly packed

1 cup crab meat

Dry Sherry (optional)

chopped parsley

chopped chives


Method

Schuck, wash and cut enough corn from the ears to equal 3 cups.

Sautee the bacon until most of the fat is rendered.  Remove to a paper towel to drain and chop in 1/2 inch piece.

Add the onions and celery to pan. Saute until tender and translucent, about 5 - 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the broth and corn.  Bring to a boil, reduce to medium and simmer for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Add the nutmeg and cayenne. Add the cream, and the crabmeat.  Cook for another 5 minutes.  If you opt to add sherry, do it now and simmer another 5 minutes.  Add the dry breadcrumbs and cook until the are incorporated, about another 5 minutes. Remove from stove and add chopped parsley and chives.. Pour into a serving bowl and garnish with the reserved  parsley and chive.*

*I like to rest the soup rest for about 30 minutes to absorb all the flavor.  You can reheat if it cools.

** You can make a quick fish broth by boiling some white fish, celery, onion, bay leaf, parsley, carrot and salt and pepper for about 30 minutes in about 4 cups of water.  Freeze what you don't use.  It will come in handy when you make the Simple Paella for Sunday Lunch

Adapted from Lee Damon Fowler,
The Savannah Cookbook