Indonesian Corn Chowder for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

Better late than never! This is the soup I made for last week but being sick, I just didn't feel like finishing it or taking pictures of it for last Sunday. It would be a shame if I hadn't posted it though, because this soup is a good one. This Indonesian Corn Chowder comes from The Healthy Hedonist: More Than 200 Delectable Flexitarian Recipes for Relaxed Daily Feasts by Myra Kornfeld. This book has a lot of great recipes; plenty of vegetarian ones and some with fish and chicken. I had the soup tagged and had to make it when the "corn lady" was parked near my house. With her beat-up truck, homemade sign and lawn chair, she sells ears of local corn by the bag. It's fresh, and because it's Ewa Sweet Corn, it is very flavorful and has a nice, natural sweetness, making it perfect for a soup like this where the corn is the star of the show. 

Myra Kornfeld says: "Flecks of corn, tomato and cilantro float on a flavorful creamy corn base in this chowder. The lemon grass, chilies, ginger and cilantro stems infuse the soup with great flavor."

Indonesian Corn Chowder

The Healthy Hedonist by Myra Kornfeld

(Serves 4-6)

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped (1 cup)

1 carrot, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 celery stock, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

6 cups corn kernels (from 6 to 8 ears fresh corn)

2 fresh lemongrass stalks, cut into thirds

10 cilantro stems

2 jalapeno peppers, halved

one 2-inch piece fresh ginger, unpeeled, cut into 4 thin slices

4 1/2 cups water

salt

2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and cut into small dice

1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp fresh lime juice

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Warm the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery, and saute until softened, 10 minutes. Add the garlic and 4 1/2 cups of corn kernels, and saute for 2 more minutes.

Tie the lemongrass, cilantro stems, peppers and ginger in a cheesecloth bundle and add it to the vegetables. Add the water, cover, and bring to a boil. Stir in 1 tsp salt, lower the heat, and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes. Remove the herb bouquet and discard it. Transfer the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the soup through a strainer into a saucepan, stirring it with a wooden spoon to help push the soup through the mesh. Discard the fibrous pulp left in the strainer. 

Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups corn and simmer for a couple of minutes to cook the corn. Stir the tomatoes, cilantro, and lime juice into the soup. Taste , and add up to 1/4 tsp salt if necessary. Serve hot.

*Note: To tie a cheesecloth bundle, open the cheesecloth , place the ingredients inside, and roll the parcel into a tube. Pull the ends together to tie the bundle; there's no need for string. 

Notes/Results: Excellent! This is a thick, hearty soup with a bright, gorgeous sunshine color and a great combination of flavors. There is the sweetness of the corn, the tangy lime, and a subtle heat from the chili. The author recommends the soup be served and eaten hot, but it is actually very tasty at room temperature and cold too. You could make it with frozen corn, but this soup is a great way to use up fresh corn as it becomes available in your area. I would make this again.

Let's take a look at who is joining us for Souper (Soup, Salad and Sammie) Sundays on this Memorial Day weekend.

L.K.from Healthy. Delicious., is ready for a Throw Down with Bobby Flay. After watching the episode with the dueling Matzo Ball Soups, she created her own. Using tricks from the show the slow-cooked broth from scratch, some "schmaltz" (rendered chicken fat) in her matzoh balls, and a jalapeno in the broth, she made a bowl of soup just as good as the one she had while in New York last year. This is one gorgeous bowl of soup!

Graziana from Erbe in Cucina is here with a lovely "Zuppa di fave e ment" or Broad Beans Soup with Mint. If you are not familiar with "broad beans", you may know them as fava beans. In this soup they are pureed with bacon, potato, carrot, celery, onion and mint. Graziana says that the mint "adds a fresh aroma to this creamy soup."  

Although some said it would never happen, I never doubted that Joanne, my soup indifferent friend from Eats Well With Others, would find a soup that she liked! She is here with a Chilled Summer Squash Soup with Curry. Cooking her way through Bon Appetit's Fast/Easy/Fresh, she found this soup and ended up really liking it, both warm and cold. Welcome to the world of soup Joanne! ;-)

After taking a blogging mini-break and regaining her motivation, Kim from Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet is back this week with another soup for her vegetarian, asparagus-loving friend Kassie. Kim says that this Asparagus Soup is not only quick and easy to make, it is delicious  and a great way to eat healthy asparagus too.

Kristin of Whatcha Eatin? was doing a fridge clean-out and found a bunch of potatoes she needed to use up. Soup was her first thought, followed closely by Baked Potato Soup, so she came up with a recipe full of herbs, cheese and sour cream that had her husband exclaiming, "you are getting really good at this!"  Just the kind of praise we all like to hear!

A sick hubby in the house, Stephanie from Dispensing Happiness, worked some magic with the remains from a smoked chicken he had cooked that week, and created a simple "Feel Better" Soup. With the rich stock, simmered with ginger and some kaffir lime leaves, and some rice noodles thrown in at the end, Stephanie says it might not look like much, but according to Matt, it was "amazing!", especially when eaten with his Star Trek "spork"!

Making sure the salads get their representation this week, is Natashya from Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. After a burger-heavy Birthday lunch for her son, Natashya decided to lighten things up for dinner with this healthy, balanced Mediterranean Chickpea Salad. Full of salmon, veggies, garbanzo beans and herbs, it is filling and she says if it isn't enough for a "manly dinner", they can have another bowl!

Also feeling the call of salad is Heather at girlichef, who put the delicious leftover bounty from the grill to good use with her Grilled Southwest Salad-2 Ways. At Heather's house, you get a choice of grilled Mexican-style steak slices or honey-chipotle chicken on your salad. With black beans, avocado, cheese, tortilla strips and lime vinaigrette, Heather says it is the perfect salad for a steamy weekend. I'll have some of each please!

Beautiful soups and salads this week! Thanks to all who joined us for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays. If you have a soup, salad, sandwich or any combination of the three, that you would like to share, click on the Souper Sunday logo on the sidebar for all the details. 

Have a wonderful Memorial Day holiday tomorrow, if you here in the U.S., and a wonderful week wherever you are.