A deliciously light Shrimp and Corn Chowder with all the taste of Southern Comfort Food without all the guilt.
Course Soup
Cuisine Southern
Keyword classic recipes, comfort food, traditional food recipes, weeknight dinner
Prep Time 20minutes
Cook Time 15minutes
Total Time 35minutes
Servings 6servings
Calories 289kcal
Author Virginia Willis of Lighten Up, Y'all!
Ingredients
1poundunshelled large shrimp21/25 count, peeled and deveined, shells reserved
1sweet onioncoarsely chopped
1carrotcoarsely chopped
Scraped kernels from 4 ears fresh sweet cornabout 2 cups, cobs reserved and halved
2cupswater
2teaspoonspure olive oil
1poblano chilecored seeded and chopped
3stalks celerychopped
1sweet onionchopped
2garlic cloveschopped
1largerusset potatocut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 6 ounces)
3springs fresh thymeleaves only
2bay leavespreferably fresh
Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2tablespoonsunbleached all-purpose flour
2cups2% milk
12grape tomatoesquartered, or 1 ripe tomato, cored and chopped
1/4cupchopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Smoked paprikafor garnish
Instructions
Put the shrimp shells in a medium pot and add the coarsely chopped onion, carrot, and halved corn cobs. (It's all about building layers of flavor.) Top with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and decrease the heat to simmer. Cook until the broth is slightly colored and smells lightly sweet, about 5 minutes. Strain into a bowl, discarding the solids, and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the poblano, celery, chopped onion, potato, and reserved corn kernels. Add the thyme, bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a few grinds of pepper and cook, stirring, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the flour until incorporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in the shrimp stock and milk, then cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Uncover, decrease the heat to medium-low, and gently simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves.
To finish the soup, in the stockpot, using an immersion blender, puree the soup. Or, ladle the soup into a blender and puree until smooth, a little at a time. Leave it coarse and chunky if you prefer a more rustic soup or puree until smooth for a more elegant soup. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper. If needed, rewarm the soup over medium-low heat. Stir in the reserved shrimp and tomato; cook until the shrimp are opaque, about 2 minutes. Add the parsley and taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper. Divide among warmed bowls and sprinkle with paprika. Serve immediately.