IT’S BEEN OVER A CENTURY AND A HALF SINCE
Lettice Bryan showed us how to use corn in soups and chowders in her Kentucky Housewife “receipt” book, but at Southern chowder parties today (especially in Florida, where chowder is king) you’re just as likely to find vegetable chowders such as this as you are ones based on seafood. “Since it’s got both corn and limas, we just call it succotash chowder,” said my host at his cottage on rustic Amelia Island, north of Jacksonville. And what did he serve with the big bowls of smoky chowder? Delightful cornets of Georgia country ham stuffed with cream cheese and, of course, cornbread dripping with butter. Personally, I don’t make this chowder unless I have fresh corn, mainly because I
think the milk scraped with the kernels from the ears adds even more milky richness.
Makes 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 pound slab bacon, rind removed and cut into small dice
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice
- 2 cups milk
- 3 cups white corn kernels (fresh or frozen and thawed)
- 1 cup baby lima beans (fresh or frozen and thawed)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large, heavy pot, fry the bacon over low heat until the fat is rendered.
- Add the chopped onion and bell pepper to the pot and cook, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes. Be careful not to brown the vegetables.
- Pour in the chicken broth and add the diced potatoes. Increase the heat to moderate and cook until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, for about 12 minutes.
- Stir in the milk, white corn kernels, baby lima beans, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking until the corn and lima beans are tender, approximately 10 minutes.
- Serve the chowder piping hot in soup plates.
NOTE
- You can adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper according to your taste preference.
