Roasted Corn Chowder

Roasted fresh corn and potato chowder is hard to beat on a chilly day! For a twist, add just a few ounces of smoked salmon and have an incredible British Columbia-inspired smoked salmon corn chowder. Had this in a little cafe on a dock in Vancouver, BC while waiting for a sea plane to take me to the outer west coast of Vancouver Island for a late season salmon fishing trip. I spent several years playing around with it to recreate it. Don't know if I matched theirs exactly, but I have come up with this basic roasted corn chowder recipe that turns into a great smoked salmon chowder, too.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 25 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 55 mins
• Calories: 362 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1 pound bacon
• 6 potatoes, diced
• ½ cup half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons butter, divided
• ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• ¼ cup shredded Cheddar cheese, or as needed (Optional)
• 3 cups chicken stock, or as needed
• 1 teaspoon dried celery flakes
• 3 cups fresh white corn kernels

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Step 2

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in an oven-proof skillet over medium heat; stir in corn and tarragon and cook, stirring occasionally, until corn begins to brown, about 5 minutes.

Step 3

Place skillet with corn in the preheated oven; roast, stirring every 5 minutes, until lightly browned but not dry, about 20 minutes.

Step 4

Place bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; cook, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove bacon slices; drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat.

Step 5

Heat reserved bacon fat in Dutch oven over medium heat; stir in onion. Cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, and continue to cook and stir until the onion is very tender and dark brown, about 15 minutes.

Step 6

Pour chicken stock over caramelized onions; stir, scraping the bottom of the pot to dissolve any browned bits, and bring to a boil. Stir corn, potatoes, parsley, garlic, celery, and paprika into onion mixture. Crumble bacon, reserving about 1/4 cup for garnish, and stir bacon into soup. Reduce heat to low; simmer until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

Step 7

Stir remaining 2 tablespoons butter and half-and-half into soup; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle reserved bacon and Cheddar cheese over soup to serve.