I am a soup lover. I can eat soup 365 days of the year. Mind you, I am not eating soup on a beach, but in an air conditioned house or my office, so I am good to go.
Midwest produce is just starting to pop up in my local farmers market. If you live in the Chicagoland area, the Lincoln Square Farmers Market is open Tuesday mornings and Thursday evenings. It’s just a block away from our Lincoln Square location.
If you happen to be in the neighborhood on Thursday nights from 6-7 p.m., be sure to stop by our booth, where one of our chefs will prepare a dish using fresh ingredients from the farmer’s market. It’s a great way to get some of your cooking questions answered by a professional chef!
Farmers market corn inspired my dish for this blog post. I’ve had corn chowders before that were really rich and thick. No wonder, some recipes call for 4 tablespoons of butter to sauté the corn, and two cups of heavy cream in the chowder. In case you weren’t aware, two cups of heavy cream has 1600 calories. I chose to add unsweetened almond milk for a mere 30 calories and chicken broth for 40 calories.
I opted for a light soup, rather than chowder, and added a cooked baked potato to my soup to thicken, as well as to puree two cups of the soup and add that back to the soup. And, because I like things spicy, added ¼ cup of chopped pickled jalapenos to the soup to kick it up a notch. If you don’t like spice, you can leave them out. This pot makes 4 servings of about two cups per serving.
Corn and Potato Soup
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 baked potato, skin removed and diced (about 10 ounces)
- 3 cups fresh corn cut from the cob (about 6 ears)
- ¼ cup pickled jalapenos
- ½ teaspoon salt (if you are using regular chicken broth, you may not need to add this additional salt)
- ½ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- Bacon bits and shredded cheese for garnish
In a stock pot, melt the butter. Add the flour and stir and cook for one minute. Add in the milk, broth, potato, corn, jalapenos, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. You don’t need to cook it any longer than that, since the potato is already cooked, and I like the corn to have a crunch to it.
Remove two cups of the soup, puree until blended, then add back to the soup. Stir in dried parsley. Garnish with shredded cheese and bacon bits. This recipe comes in at 4 Weight Watcher points if you are following that program, or 213 calories, 7 fat, 40 carbs and 7 protein.
Not only can you go to the Lincoln Square Farmers Market to see the chef demonstration, but on August 23, you can take a Farmers Market class, and accompany the chef to the market and shop and then go back to the store and watch the chef cook up a vegetarian meal based on what the chef is inspired to buy that day. This is a demonstration class, which means you’ll be able to sit back, enjoy a glass of wine and let the chef cook for you.
If you enjoy wine, check out these upcoming classes:
- Wine and Dine Friday, August 3 6:30pm Merchandise Mart
- How to Bluff your Way through Wine Wednesday, August 8 7pm Lincoln Square
- The Wine Lands of Spain Monday, August 20 Lincoln Square
- Unlock the Secrets of Wine Monday, August 27 6pm Merchandise Mart
- How to Pair Food and Wine Friday, August 31 6pm Merchandise Mart
As much as I love this corn and potato soup, my all-time favorite soup is Lasagna Soup. I think I’ve made this soup at least 150 times; it’s that good and customizable.
Tell me, are you a year-round soup lover? What’s your favorite soup? Let me know in the comments below and feel free to link to your favorite soup recipe.
