Virginia Vegetarian Chowder Recipe
Corn, Potatoes, Peppers and More with or without Virginia Ham
Aug 24, 2008
What's a Southern vegetarian to do? Every now and then, a little bit of Virginia's traditional ham or bacon can give foods the flavor they crave. A quarter cup of Virginia ham or cooked salt-cured bacon, diced or crumbled can turn this otherwise true-blue vegetarian chowder into a dish to be especially flavored to be shared with a meat-loving spouse. Another variation is to use chicken broth rather than vegetable broth.
Ingredients
- 4 ears corn or, if corn on the cob is unavailable, 3 cups of frozen corn
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup water, or as much or little as needed to cover the vegetables
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound or 3 cups of diced sweet peppers (green, red, yellow, purple)
- 1 medium onion or 1 cup diced sweet onion
- 1 rib or ¼ cup diced celery
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 pound or 3 cups of diced yellow potatoes
Preparation
Remove husks and silk from corn. Remove corn from cob by holding vertically and slicing downward. Save the cobs and set the kernels aside.
If the potato skin is thin, dice with the skin on. If potato skin is tough, thick, or has a lot of eyes, peel the potatoes before dicing. Dice potatoes into small cubes not much larger than the kernels of corn. Set aside.
Dice peppers and onion into small cubes not much larger than the kernels of corn. Set aside.
Cooking the Chowder
Break corn cobs into 2 to 3 pieces and add to the vegetable broth in medium saucepan. Heat until boiling, then turn heat to medium or medium low so that the liquid in bubbling, but not boiling rapidly, and let the corn cobs cook for 15 minutes. If using frozen corn, add the corn to the boiling water, but turn off the heat. Leave the pan of broth and corn on the stove-top burner to cook as the heat wanes.
In a soup pot large enough to hold all of the ingredients, heat the oil over medium heat. When hot, add the peppers, onion, and celery and sauté until limp, or about 10 minutes. If using Virginia ham or salt-cured bacon, add it at this time. Add the pepper. If not using ham or bacon, add a dash of salt, if desired.
Add flour to sautéed vegetables. Add ½ cup of broth and stir to dissolve the flour. If cooking corn cobs, remove them from the broth and add the liquid to the stockpot ½ to 1 cup at a time, stirring after each addition. If using frozen corn, add corn and broth at the same time.
Add corn kernels and diced potatoes.
Bring the chowder to a boil, and then lower heat to medium. Allow the mixture to boil slowly. Cook until the potatoes are done, or about 15 minutes.
With potato masher, mash the vegetable hard enough to crush some of the potatoes but not the other vegetables. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes.
Remove from heat, cover, and allow the chowder to sit for 15 minutes.
Remember to compost all of your vegetable scraps.
Serve
Ladle servings into a bowl and top with a tablespoon of sour cream, if desired. Serve with warm, whole grain bread.
Listen to the health experts and enjoy a hearty and healthy vegetarian or almost vegetarian meal from the bounty of the summer garden.
Learn more about Vegetarian Nutrition!
 |
