Chicken Corn Chowder at Home

We're cooking Chicken Corn Chowder at Home with Peter Thomson from New England Country Soup.

Ingredients:

3 2/3 cups Corn (frozen)
1 ¼ cup Potatoes (peeled and cubed)
1 1/8 cup Heavy Cream (whipping)
1 cup White Chicken Meat (cooked)
½ cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter
½ cup Celery (chopped)
¼ cup Onion (chopped)
¼ cup Corn Starch
1/8 cup Red Bell Pepper (chopped)
4 teaspoons Sea Salt
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 tablespoon Coriander (ground)
Dash to taste Black Pepper (ground)
Dash to taste Cayenne Pepper (ground)
8 ¼ cups Water (divided)

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 30-45 minutes
Servings: 6-8

Steps:

1. Sauté chicken using medium heat. (We like to sauté in low sodium chicken broth; any oil is an alternative, or you can poach in water.)

2. Cut up the potatoes, celery, onions and red peppers while chicken cooks. Note: we like to cut vegetable pieces into essentially the same size so they will cook at the same rate, ending up with roughly the same consistency.

3. Drain the chicken from the chicken broth.

4. Place corn starch in mixing bowl with ½ cup of water. Using a whisk, stir vigorously until corn starch is blended. (You may need to re-stir before adding to the soup. See below.)

5. Place stick of unsalted butter in the bottom of the soup pot over low heat to melt. Then sauté the potatoes, celery, onions and red peppers using medium/high heat.

6. When the vegetables’ colors have softened and the onions are almost translucent, reduce heat to medium.

7. Add remaining water, corn, cream, sautéed chicken, sea salt, sugar, coriander, black pepper and cayenne pepper to soup pot.

8. Bring to a boil, add corn starch/water mix then reduce to low-medium heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Stir gently until soup thickens. After which, stir periodically as soup simmers.

9. Butter will collect on top of the soup. Prior to serving, give the soup a vigorous mix to re-integrate the butter into the broth of the soup.

10. Serve and listen to the joyful silence as your “crew” basks in this update on a +400 year old New England tradition!

More information:

Inspired by many consumer comments comparing New England Country Soup to homemade soup, the Soup Challenge™ is a fun recipe and cooking competition that gives consumers the opportunity to challenge their homemade soup recipes in a head-to-head taste and nutrition test against any flavor of New England Country Soup.

Ten finalists from New England will compete in the ultimate Soup Challenge™ in Boston on March 5, 2011, for bragging rights and a chance to win a New England Weekend Getaway for two to Martha’s Vineyard. To learn more about official rules and entry information, visit soupchallenge.com

To learn more about New England Country Soup, visit newenglandcountrysoup.com .