Getting your 5-10 a day has never been easier thanks to this quick, delicious, chock-full of veggies soup. Chowder is a method, and as with many of my recipes, use the ingredients that you like or have on hand – no special or hard-to-find stuff here – it’s all about the choppin’.
Do all the prep before you start and this will come together faster than a herd of teenage girls to a One Direction-sighting – you could really mess with them, with the help of twitter – imagine – “@directioners @onedirection is on the corner of #hot&hotter – first girl there’ll go on tour with …” – aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Needless to say, once you’ve rinsed, peeled and chopped – your concert of veg (I couldn’t resist) along with a few other players, it’ll be ready for its close-up and you’ll be giving the boys a run for their money in the the rock star department.
Stick to the method and use the vegetables that you have on hand, and if you think those you cook for may object, finely dice ’em, they’ll never notice – really. Throw in a few heavy hitters like little meatballs, diced grilled chicken or sautéed shrimp – my kids gobble this one up as their friends look on in horror! Reminds me of the Life Cereal commercial from the 70’s – hey world – they like it!
click here to jump down to the vegetable chowder with herbs recipe
1. First, get the vegetables together and start choppin’!
2. Carrots, celery & onions are first, ’cause they need to get in the pot first.
3. Then broccoli, red pepper & cauliflower – ’cause they’re up next.
4. Zucchini follows … and any other vegetable you want … really … any one – snap peas, hot peppers, asparagus, green beans.
5. Dice the potatoes.
6. Get the frozen corn/mixed veg in a bowl to thaw – doesn’t really matter if they do or not, I just like to get them ready.
7. The aromatics join the potatoes and frozen veg – they go to the party together.
8. Get the onions, carrots and celery sautéing.
9. Add the broccoli, cauliflower and red pepper.
10. Get it all moving like a veg-e-ta-billy hoedown!
11. After about 10 minutes, remove the vegetables and set aside while you make the soup part.
12. Melt the butter.
13. Measure the same amount of flour as butter, (you’re making a roux)
14. Whisking to form a smooth paste. Keep moving it around ’til is starts to smell nutty.
15. Get your stock together – you can either use your own, the stuff in a carton or I use a paste bouillon that you add to water. Just stir it around in warm water until it dissolves – no msg in this one don’t cha know!
16. Slowly pour in the stock while whisking all the while until it’s well incorporated.
17. Do the same with the milk.
18. In go the aromatics – oregano, thyme and a bayleaf – I add salt & pepper after ’cause the bouillon is salty.
19. And it will look like this – turn the heat to medium-highish – not boiling.
20. Stir in the potatoes and the frozen vegetables and cook it for 10-15 minutes.
21. Return the first load of vegetables back into the pot, taste for salt and pepper. You could add a shot of hot sauce. It’s your soup, add what you like.
22. Work your veg-e-ta-billy hoedown, gently, and it will look like this.
23. Time for a close-up.
24. Be sure to give it a good stir before ladling it out.
25. Grab a bowl and dig in … and by the way, it’ll be even better the next day.
vegetable chowder with herbs
Serves 6-8
1. In a soup pot over medium heat, cook until crispy and remove (remove all but 2-3 tbsps. of fat):
- 4-6 slices of bacon or pancetta, diced
If you don’t want to use bacon or pancetta, a couple of healthy glugs of olive oil will work just fine.
2. Chop the following into medium dice and sauté about 5 minutes:
- 1 onion
- 2-3 ribs celery
- 2-3 carrots
3. Add the following (and any other vegetables you would like), sauté another 5 minutes and remove to a bowl:
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 1-2 cups each broccoli & cauliflower florets
4. Add to the pot and melt:
- 3 tbsps. butter
5. Whisk into butter to form a paste and cook until a nutty aroma is noticeable:
- 3 tbsps. flour
6. Whisk in the following in a steady stream:
- 3 cups chicken/vegetable stock
7. Continue whisking and pour in:
- 3-4 cups milk
8. Add the following and simmer until almost tender, about 1/2 an hour:
- 2-3 potatoes, diced
- 1 cup frozen corn or mixed vegetables
- 2 tsps. dried herbs like oregano, thyme or a combination
- 1 bay leaf
- salt & pepper, to taste
9. Return the vegetables to the pot. Give it a good stir to mix well. Serve in bowls and top with crisp bacon (if that’s how you started). Add a shot of hot sauce for a kick. Yum!
tips
get creative
- add cooked shredded chicken, shrimp or diced ham after the potatoes are cooked
- adding less liquid will result in more of a stew you can spoon over rice or noodles
- play with the seasonings (not literally!). A teaspoon or 2 of curry powder, for instance, and coconut milk instead of regular milk or a combo makes an entirely different soup
- if coconut milk is where you’re headed, carry on with a few thai flavorings & ingredients instead of the herbs – along with onions in step 2, add 2-3 cloves minced garlic and a teaspoon of grated ginger. Add 2-3 tbsps. of fish sauce along with the potatoes in step 9 omitting the rest of the flavorings. Finish with lime juice (2 tbsps.), sliced scallions, chopped cilantro and a healthy shake of hot sauce or red pepper flakes – a can of straw mushrooms (drained) will take it over the top!
chow down on chowder
- bacon, black bean, corn chowder
- butternut squash chowder
- cheeseburger chowder
- chicken & bacon corn chowder
- chunky chicken chowder
- classic clam chowder
- corn chowder
- corn & crab chowder pot pies
- fish chowder
- loaded baked potato chowder
- lobster corn chowder
- manhattan clam chowder
- mussel chowder
- new england clam chowder
- peruvian seafood chowder
- poblano chicken chowder
- rhode island clam chowder
- salmon chowder with dill
- scallop & mushroom chowder
- seafood chowder
- sweet potato, kale & corn chowder
- thai corn chowder
flank steak seared with garlic & soy
biscotti with oatmeal, orange, figs & walnuts
biscotti with chocolate & hazelnuts
zucchini or (broccoli) fritters with scallions & goat cheese
popcorn with maple syrup & salt
YUM!!!!!!!
This recipe for chowder sounds delicious but, since I choose to be dairy-free, I was wondering if a substitution such as Almond Breeze could be used instead of milk?
I’m sure you could substitute almond milk – it’s really a question of how it tastes to you when it’s warm, so test it out, heat a little up and see what you think. You could also try soy or rice milk. Just be sure to use plain – vanilla chowder? Not so much!
Another option is to use a couple of cans of coconut milk – which is close to 3 cups and make the rest up with water/soy/rice or almond milk. Have a look at the recipe post above and see # 4 under “get creative” – how to make this a sensational thai coconut chowder instead. Hope this helps – the crazed cook