It’s still cold out, so I’m still cranking out thick, warming winter soups.  This is one of my absolute favorite chowder recipes and is probably the first soup I really perfected.  It’s incredibly easy to make, completely satisfying, and it always picks me up in the dull gray months when fresh corn is unavailable.

This recipe comes from a period of my life when I was a (gasp!) vegetarian.  Even though I’m a dedicated omnivore again, ordering my pit beef rare and throwing bacon on damn near everything, I still do a lot of vegetarian cooking, and this is one of the best meatless chowders I’ve come across.  It’s a great option to bring to a dinner party or gathering since, chances are, there will be at least one vegetarian diner in attendance, and it pairs with a wide variety of meat dishes.  I brought it to a gathering at my friends’ house this fall – not only did it receive rave reviews but it went beautifully with Nick’s first ever roast pork.

Prep time: 15 Minutes

Total cooking time: 30 Minutes

Serves: 6 to 8

• 6 tablespoons (3 oz) salted butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 heaping tablespoon cumin
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 3 medium or 4 small potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 14.5 oz can sweet creamed-style corn
• 1 14.5 oz can corn kernels
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 handfuls grated Cheddar cheese
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons cream (optional)

Heat the butter in a large heavy-based pan.  Add the chopped onions and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until golden.  And garlic and cumin and cook for one minute, stirring constantly until nice and foamy.  Add vegetable stock, stir well and bring to a boil.  Add potatoes and reduce heat to medium-low.  Simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are just tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the creamed corn and corn kernels.  Bring to the boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add fresh parsley and continue to simmer for another five minutes.  Stir through the cheese and cream, if using, and heat gently until the cheese melts.  Add sea salt and fresh pepper to taste.

Now that you’ve read through the recipe, you can tell right away that this soup, while vegetarian, ain’t exactly healthy.  I always make it the full-fat way because I love real butter and cream, however, this recipe could easily be modified to reduce the calories, or even to make it vegan.  You could use margarine or canola oil, reduced-fat or soy cheese, and soy creamer.  Even non-dairy creamer could be substituted – my mom is lactose-intolerant and often uses non-dairy creamer to suprisingly good results.  One tip, though – if you go the soy cheese route, make sure you invest in a high-quality cheese that melts well.  I’ve had soy cheeses that ended up floating in a soup like shredded plastic and bringing a weird fruity aftertaste to the whole affair.

With any recipe I post, I welcome any suggestions for changes or other options.  Some people slavishly follow recipes to the letter – I think recipes are meant to be bent to your own diabolical will.  I’ve learned so much by using recipes and tweaking them until they don’t exactly resemble the original version but make me quite happy.  This chowder, for example, would also love for you to add some cooked shrimp in with the corn.  Or some cooked chicken.  Or bacon (sorry, had to do it).  I used regular white potatoes, but why don’t you experiment with Yukon Gold for a firmer and more buttery starch?  Or some cilantro instead of parsley?  When it comes to soup, the world is your oyster.  You can add them too.