Spicy Vegan Corn Chowder

A Reminder of Summer

Woolf’s is our favorite local farm stand. They keep things simple, selling mainly vegetables and homemade pies, and driving by their cornfields we make guesses as to when the first ears will be ready in July. When my husband is working on a TV show he will often take a burlap bag holding fifty ears of corn to the caterer to feed the cast and crew. He is sometimes dismayed that they don’t always cook it immediately when it is fresh and at its best.

This soup is both spicy and slightly sweet. We still have corn on the cob here in early October, but it is just chilly enough for soup to hit the spot. I first tried making this with roasted poblano peppers, but I didn’t care for the taste, so I substituted the chipotle chili powder. Unlike baking a cake where your measurements need to be precise, soup allows for the cook to play around with the recipe, so you may want to change the quantities of the ingredients.

Ingredients

1 T olive oil

1 onion diced (about one cup)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 t chipotle chili powder

1 t cumin

2 yukon gold potatoes, diced (about 2 cups)

4 ears of corn

4 cups vegetable broth

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

salt and pepper (1/2 t each)

Directions

Add two cups of water to a large pot. Bring water to a boil, turn the heat off, and add the corn on the cob to the pot. Let steam for 8 minutes. Remove the corn with tongs to cool off to the side. In the meantime, heat the oil in a saucepan on medium. Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, until translucent. Stir in the garlic, potatoes, spices, salt and pepper. Cook an additional 5 minutes. Slice the corn from the cob and add to the pot along with the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and cook for about 25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Separate half of the soup into a blender to puree. Pour it back into the pot and stir in the coconut milk. Taste to see if you would like to add additional spice.