Sweet Corn and Crawfish Chowder

Every now and then I get a little homesick. Or nola-sick, rather. Because honestly, New Orleans hasn’t technically been “home” for me since 2007. For three years I lived in Pennsylvania, four in North Carolina, and two so far in New York. But New Orleans is home. It will always be home. When you’re raised in a place like nola, it becomes a part of who you are. From the flavors we crave to the way we win (or lose) a football game. Our pride can’t be crushed by a perfectly timed field goal. Because, laissez les bon temps rouler, right?

This recipe is a harmony of my new home and old. Crawfish étouffée was my favorite food growing up; soup most definitely was not. Sure, I ate goo-gads of gumbo or the occasional bowl of chicken noodle when I was sick, but that’s about it. I bet it was the heat. And the humidity. Now I crave corn chowder almost as much as crawfish season. So when I noticed they sold crawfish in the local Fairway, I was elated. And then I saw the price. Thought about it, and got it anyway. No regrets. Local corn is abundant here, so I’m always looking for ways to incorporate it into my meals. Thus, the sweet corn and crawfish chowder was born.

Corn Stock

 

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In the summer we eat a lot of corn. For extra corny corn stock, I like to make a stock first using only corn cobs. Then reserve that "corn water" and use that in place of the water in the recipe. This is called an enhanced stock. (to clarify, this would mean the stock would involve roughly 14 de-kernaled corn cobs over a length of time)

Author: Suzanne Bruno

Ingredients

• 6-8 fresh corn cobs, halved and kernels removed
• 1 roma tomato, quartered
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 ribs celery, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 spring thyme, parsley stems, 6ish whole black peppercorns, mushroom trim (or 2 mushrooms quartered)

Instructions

1. In a large stock pot, add the de-kernaled corn cobs, tomato, onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cover completely with water (about 3-4 quarts) and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the remaining ingredients if available. Simmer for 20-40 minutes or until fully flavored. (If you taste a vegetable scrap and its flavorless, you're good to go). Strain through a fine mesh strainer and discard the remains.

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Crawfish and Corn Chowder

 

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

 

For a thicker chowder, use 4 cups of stock instead of 5

Author: Suzanne Bruno

Recipe type: Soup

Cuisine: Cajun

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 4T unsalted butter
• 4 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• ½ cup AP flour
• 3 ribs of celery, peeled and diced
• 1 medium spanish onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• ½ cup dry white white
• 4 - 5 cups corn stock
• corn kernels from 8 cobs
• ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 8 medium-small yukon gold potatoes (about 1lb)
• reserved corn kernels
• 1 lb frozen crawfish tails
• 1 cup half and half
• salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix together the crawfish tails with 1½ cups of cold water. Let sit for 15 minutes and then drain, reserving the juice and tails separately.
2. melt 4 T unsalted butter in a large pot
3. add the bacon and sauté until brown and crispy, stirring regularly over medium low heat.
4. Add the garlic and cook for about 10 seconds so it’s no longer raw.
5. Add the flour and whisk vigoursly to avoid clumping. Stir for 5 minutes to cook out the raw taste of the flour.
6. Increase the heat to medium and add the chopped onions, peppers and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until tender, about 10 minutes. (It will be very dry at this stage. That’s ok)
7. Mix together the white wine and crawfish juice and deglaze to release the sticky bits at the bottom of the pot. Mix well to form a paste. Cook for about 15 minutes to cook off the wine. It should be very thick.
8. Season with salt and pepper and stir often to prevent scorching. Add wostershire.
9. While stirring constantly, slowly add the corn stock ½ cup at a time. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the potatoes and corn. Cook at a simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes.
10. Scoop about ⅓ of the soup and place in a blender. Blend on medium until smooth. Pour back into the pot. Stir.
11. Add the cream and crawfish tails at the end and cook for 5 minutes. (The crawfish tails are already cooked, so they just need to be reheated at this point).

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