Corn and Bacon Chowder
Smoky bacon, sweet corn, and tender potatoes simmer into a rich, velvety chowder — made effortlessly in your combi steam oven, no constant stirring required.
Servings: 4
Calories: 473kcal
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 slices streaky bacon chopped
- 1 onion large, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 potato large, chopped into 1/2 inch (12mm) pieces (no need to peel)
- 1 red chilli small, finely chopped, plus extra to serve (optional)
- 4 corn cobs shucked and kernels removed
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1/3 cup sour cream plus extra to serve
- fried sage leaves to serve (see notes)
- chives chopped, to serve
Instructions
- Preheat oven to Combi Steam, 400°F/200°C, 50% (medium) steam. While the oven heats, put the oil, bacon, onion, garlic and potato into a deep ovenproof pot or pan.1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, 4 slices streaky bacon, 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 potato
- When the oven reaches temperature, cook the bacon/onion/garlic/potato mixture until the onions have softened and the bacon is turning crispy around the edges. This should take about 15 minutes; give it a stir halfway through so the garlic doesn't get caught on the base of the pan.
- Remove the pot from the oven and add the chilli, corn kernels and stock. Return the pot to the oven and cook until the potato is tender, about 20 minutes.1 red chilli, 4 corn cobs, 4 cups chicken stock
- Transfer two-thirds of the soup to a blender with the sour cream and whiz until smooth. Return to the saucepan with remaining unblended soup and stir to combine. Alternatively, use an immersion blender directly in the pot and blend until the soup is almost smooth but with a few chunky bits left.1/3 cup sour cream
- Season to taste. Ladle into bowls and top with extra sour cream, fried sage leaves and chopped chives to serve.fried sage leaves, chives
Notes
- Cooking temperature. This may seem like a very high oven temperature to be cooking soup, but go with it! The humidity in the oven, and the liquid in the soup, will stop things from burning and the higher heat makes the corn cook fairly quickly so it still tastes fresh rather than boiled and muddy.
- Bacon. I like to use streaky, but if you want it to be less fatty a short cut (eye) bacon will work just fine. As an alternative, you could use diced pancetta or speck.
- Corn. This soup is best made when you can get fresh corn at its peak. If you can't wait for corn season, frozen kernels are an ok substitute (cook them straight from the freezer, giving the soup a little longer to cook if needed). I would not use canned corn in this recipe.
- Chilli. Strictly you don't need to include it, but the bit of heat it brings is a great counterpoint to the sweetness and richness of the other ingredients.
- Fried sage leaves. These are wholly optional, but so good! Drop whole sage leaves into hot oil or butter and fry them for a minute or so until they're crisp. Drain on paper towels and you've got the best soup garnish around.
Nutrition
Calories: 473kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 514mg | Potassium: 872mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 412IU | Vitamin C: 36mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 2mg
