August Corn - How Sweet It Is

It's that time of year. Prime corn season. When you use the word "shuck" more than all the other months combined. When it's acceptable to roll a freshly boiled ear of corn in a brand new stick of butter. When raising your corn at mouth-level and going to town on it typewriter style until you're done is really the only way to go. Oh how I love August.

It's also the only time of the summer where I really get excited about making soup. Corn chowder. Nothing like it. Pure, fresh, simple, slightly creamy. I love it. Here's my easy recipe. Hurry and try it. Sadly, summer is almost over and so is the chance to indulge in the sweetest, most tender corn of the year.

Corn Chowder Recipe

There are probably as many recipes for Corn Chowder as there are kernels of corn in the world. This is my take on it. Very minimalistic - lets the corn be the hero.

Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 bunch of scallions (5-7), chopped (only the white parts)
- 6 ears of corn, shucked, hold vertically and cut the corn off the cob
- 8 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- salt & pepper to taste

How to:
- Melt butter and add olive oil
- Sauté onions for about 8 minutes over low heat.
- Add scallions and sauté for an additional 3 minutes.
- Mix in flour a little at a time, stirring continuously for about 4 minutes - you will see the mixture thicken.
- Add the broth and corn, bring to a boil, reduce to medium and cook an additional 10-15 minutes, until corn is tender.
- Turn off the stove and stir in the heavy cream while soup is still hot.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Purée soup with a hand blender or put in a blender (just be careful not to fill too high - it might splatter). You can strain the soup if you like but I prefer it with some texture to it.
- Serve as is or with a few seared scallops or chicken sausage slices in the bowl.

Summer on a spoon!