They’ve just been staring at me.
Four potatoes have been sitting on my kitchen counter since Thanksgiving, and as the days passed, they literally were growing some eyes to look at me with.
So I knew I needed to make something to use them up, and with the weather finally hitting a dreaded cold snap, I decided to pull out a chowder recipe I’ve been meaning to try.
Of course, I had to do some tweaking, including making it a bit heartier by adding chicken and increasing the spices and vegetables, too.
If you’re looking for a vegetarian recipe, just leave out the chicken, use some vegetable broth and throw in even more potatoes. It’ll still be delicious.
The recipe I tried, by Ivy Manning, appeared in “Fine Cooking” magazine in 2018. You can find it on their website at https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/potato-poblano-corn-chowder.
Potato Poblano Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 poblano peppers diced
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups milk I used skim
- 2 medium-sized potatoes diced
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 2 cups corn kernels I used frozen
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Cayenne pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, peppers, carrots and celery and saute until the vegetables are soft.
- Add the coriander, cumin, thyme, salt and pepper and flour, and stir to combine. Saute for a couple minutes to cook out the flour taste. Stir in the tomato paste, and then add the broth, milk, potatoes, chicken and corn to the pot.
- Bring the mixture to a low boil, and then turn the heat down to low and simmer, with a lid on the pot, for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are fork tender.
- Stir in the lemon juice and cayenne pepper and then serve immediately.
Add as much or as little cayenne as you want to this to control the spice level. Poblano peppers tend to be on the milder side, but if you’re nervous, make sure you remove the ribs and seeds when you dice them up, too.
This had a creamy taste and was a good belly warmer. I actually ended up doubling the recipe so I could store the leftovers as quick weeknight dinners in our freezer.
I was glad to finally get some of my counter space back just in time for all my holiday baking. But I have a feeling that when I’m staring down a mountain of treat containers over the next few weeks, I’ll really miss those potatoes.
This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 23, 2021.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
