Harvest Creamy Corn "Choup"

Creamy Corn "Choup"


2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 pound small potatoes, cut into small chunks
4 to 5 large ears corn, kernels scraped from the cobs, or one 10-ounce box frozen corn
1 medium or 2 small zucchini, finely chopped
5 to 6 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoons flour
One 32-ounce container (4 cups) chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Salt and pepper
Hot pepper sauce
Oyster crackers or popcorn, to pass around the table

1. In a medium soup pot, heat the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp at the edges. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the potatoes, corn, zucchini, thyme, bay leaf and paprika and cook for 4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour into the pot, stir and cook for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the broth and simmer until thickened a bit. Stir in the milk, cream and parsley and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 8 minutes.

2. Season the corn choup to taste with salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce and serve with crackers or popcorn to float on top.

*A few cooking "notes" from me:

1) This will taste best when you use fresh sweet corn...but if you use frozen corn BE SURE to use a good quality frozen "sweet corn"...not the 88 cent cheapo "yellow corn" (yuck!).

2) I use 6 strips of bacon...trust me...

3) FRESH thyme (but don' go crazy with it).....it makes a difference!

4) I LOVE soup...so I've done quite a bit of experimenting with what makes a soup taste exceptionally good. The one thing that I've found that makes the greatest impact on how your soup tastes is what kind of stock you use! For years I have used the old "Swanson's" canned stuff...but recently I've discovered that my old "stand-by" is what has been killing most of my soup recipes! So...I've experimented with several new stocks and I've found a few that I really like! One of my favorites is called "Kitchen Basics". Check it out! It's worth making the switch...you won't believe the difference it makes!

5)Sprinkle a little extra sharp white cheddar on top to add an extra "punch" to your soup.

There you have it! I think I'll start posting more of my favorite soup recipes in the future :-)