v:gourmet

A couple of weeks ago I gave you the recipe for smokey lentil tomato soup. Today I give you the recipe for smokey corn chowder. As the days get shorter, the nights grow longer, the air gets crispier, and the leaves start to fall I believe you really can’t have enough smokey soup in your life. I owe thanks to my dear friend Emily for this recipe who made it for the super G man’s 1st birthday. That’s her awesome little Gideon who is so cute it hurts. I made one slight change with inspiration from Naomi Duguid who posted a recipe from her new cookbook Burma for Silky Shan Soup in the Globe and Mail. How happy was I to learn the simple secret of water and chickpea flour to create a thick, smooth, pale yellow soup often served in Burma for breakfast? So happy! It was the perfect base for this thick, smooth, smokey, Canadian corn chowder. Long live friends and inter-cultural inspiration.

3/4 cup chickpea flour

2 tsps sea salt

5 cups water

3 tbsps olive oil

1 large onion, diced

4 medium sized carrots, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

5 small potatoes, diced

2 tsps sage

2 tsps thyme

2 tsps smoked paprika

2 bay leaves

2 cobs corn, cooked and nibs cut off the cob, or 1 can corn kernals

1 tbsp dijon

juice 1/2 lemon

sea salt and pepper

Combine the chickpea flour and sea salt in a medium bowl and add 1 cup of the water. Whisk well to blend and to get rid of any lumps. Set aside. Bring the remaining 4 cups water to a boil in a heavy pot, then lower the heat to medium-high. Whisk the chickpea mixture one more time, then, using a wooden spoon, stir continuously as you slowly add it to the boiling water. Lower the heat and continue to cook, stirring constantly to make sure it doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pot. After about 4 or 5 minutes the mixture will be smooth and silky with a sheen to it, and thickened. Add a bit more water, as necessary, if it’s too thick. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottom pot. Add the onions and sauté until they start to soften. Add the carrots, celery, bell pepper, and potatoes. Sauté until the vegetables begin to soften. Add sage, thyme, smoked paprika, and bay leaves. Cook until the spices become fragrant. Add chickpea mixture and stir so everything becomes nicely blended.

Add corn and dijon. Turn down the heat and let the soup simmer until all the vegetables are cooked and the flavours have begun to meld. Before serving remove the bay leaves, add the lemon juice and sea salt and pepper to taste.