Corn, Grilled Sweet Pepper, and Kale Chowder

August is the month when Andy's sweet corn (County Fair farm stand down the road from my house in Maine) is the best! We have some variation of sweet corn at our house almost daily! I have made a variety of corn chowders and this one is particularly sweet and tasty. I think the addition of grilled sweet peppers made this an especially tasty chowder. I used long, orange/yellow sweet peppers I bought at Chase's Farm Stand down in Berwick, ME when I returned from Dover, NH last week. I love that farm stand! Well, I love any farm stand. Whenever I am traveling the back roads and come upon a farm stand, I just can't resist a stop! As for the peppers, you can use red bell peppers or those long, green Italian grilling peppers. Any pepper with a sweet taste will do. Put your peppers on the grill and heat them until they blister on all sides. I then put them in a bowl, covered with a cloth, to steam a bit and soften further. I keep a stash of these grilled peppers in my fridge all summer.  I will buy several, grill them, and keep them in a covered container for 2 weeks. I use them on sandwiches, salads, sauces, omelets, etc. Today, as I was contemplating what type of corn chowder to make, I went right for the sweet, grilled peppers! I also put in some chopped kale. Kale is such a healthy vegetable. I'm not crazy about it by itself but anywhere I can put in some kale, I will so that I can reap its health benefits. As far as herbs- I prefer thyme in my chowder but rosemary or chives would be good too. As for the corn- a secret to making good corn chowder is to cut the kernels off as close to the cob as you can. That way, much of the corn milk will seep into the chowder rather than being discarded with the cob. So, here is my new chowder creation- hope you like it as much as I do!

 

Corn, Grilled Sweet Pepper, and Kale Chowder

4 ears of fresh sweet corn, cut off the cob
5 medium red skinned potatoes, diced
3 grilled sweet peppers, seeded and diced
1 large sweet onion
3 leaves of kale, remove ribbing and chop finely
1 cup chicken stock (I use one cup water and add a T of Chicken Better than Bouillon paste)
2 cups milk or enough to just barely cover the ingredients.
2 T butter or olive oil
1/2 tsp of thyme, 1 T of chives, or 1/4 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper to taste

1. Boil potatoes until soft and drain.
2. Meanwhile, saute onion in olive oil or butter until softened. Add corn, peppers, and chicken stock and simmer for about 5 minutes.
3. Add potatoes and kale and pour in milk until it just covers all the veggies. (If you prefer it milkier, you can add more milk. I prefer a chunky chowder.)
4. Add herbs- either thyme, chives or rosemary or skip if you prefer no herbs.
5. Simmer for about 5 more minutes. Let chowder set at room temperature for 1 hour, then place in fridge.
6. This recipe makes 5-6 bowls of chowder.