Chile Cauliflower Corn Chowder

Tangy canned green chiles add a Southwestern touch to this veggie-filled cauliflower corn chowder. For a simple yet satisfying meal, pair it with some quesadillas—perfect for dipping.

What’s something you always swear you’re going to cook but never, or rarely, do? I’ll go first: soup. Soups always sound so cozy—the perfect dish for Michigan’s beloved sweater weather—but I’ve never really gotten into them. So, my goal with this Chile Cauliflower Corn Chowder recipe was to create a soup I’d actually be motivated to eat. Here’s why I like it and why I hope you will, too:

• Caramelized corn provides a sweet, flavorful accent.
• Blended corn, cauliflower, and aromatics form the body of the soup, making it a pretty healthy corn chowder.
• Sour cream and canned green chiles add subtle tanginess & spice.

If you’re still a soup sceptic, you’re not alone. And do I have a theory for you…

Overcoming Souperstition

My husband is partly responsible for my lack of soup-cookery. In his mind, “soup isn’t a meal.” I’ve tried pointing out that soups can have the same amount of filling ingredients as any other meal, but it seems his opinion is based less on logic than vibes. Soups just don’t have main-dish energy, I guess. 

But I have to admit that I’m starting to see his point. While a soup can contain the same amount of meats, starches, and other gunk (official culinary term) that makes other meals feel filling, you often have to eat a larger serving of soup to get as much of those ingredients as would be in a smaller serving of a dish with less liquid. Therefore, I’ve decided that my husband’s problem is really what I will now call “soup fatigue.” He just gets tired of the soup before he gets all the benefits of it. 

Luckily, I believe I have found a thoroughly unoriginal solution to this devastating problem: dip a sandwich in your soup. Now, I know we’ve all had soup served with sandwiches before, but I’ve only recently started to appreciate the composite experience of actually dipping the sandwiches in the soup. Think about the classic grilled cheese + tomato soup combo: both are comforting but perhaps unexciting on their own. But get them in the same bite, and transformation happens—the acidity of the soup perfectly balances out the richness of the cheese, and vice versa. Plus, the sandwich’s crisp crust provides a texture you normally don’t get in a soup.

Soup-and-Sandwich Pairing

To get the most out of your soup-and-sandwich combo, I do have a few tips:

• Pick a low-effort sandwich. If you’re making your soup from scratch (which I recommend for soup-sceptics since canned soups can be pretty blah), you probably don’t want to spend much time cooking something to go with it. Luckily, since the sandwich gets dipped in the soup, it really doesn’t need to be fancy. A good ol’ grilled cheese will do.
• Get creative with your sandwich. You may have noticed from the photos that I used a quesadilla to dip in my Chile Cauliflower Corn Chowder. Am I saying a quesadilla is a sandwich? No! But it is a delicious, easy, hand-held food that will dip just as nicely. And an easy sandwich doesn’t have to be a boring sandwich! A few interesting, ready-to-serve ingredients go a long way; think smoked cheese slices, jarred roasted peppers, and savory spreads.
• Balance your flavors. If you have a bright, acidic soup such as tomato, add rich or creamy ingredients to your sandwich, like ham, cheese, or spinach dip. With creamier soups, try putting a spicy spread or pickled ingredient on your sandwich.
• Pick a good soup for dipping. This probably works best with puréed soups, chowders, or stews with fairly small chunks (aka chili). I’m not going to tell you not to dip a sandwich in chicken noodle soup, but I’m also not going to do it myself.

Whether you choose to dip or not to dip, read on for a few tips to perfect this cauliflower corn chowder recipe.

Chile Cauliflower Corn Chowder: What to Know

• Dividing the corn: This recipe calls for lightly caramelizing part of the corn and reserving it to add at the end. Adding more than 1 cup of corn for this step caused the corn to steam, which doesn’t prevent caramelization but does make it take longer. Adding the caramelized corn kernels back into the soup after the blending step gives you sweet, flavorful bits in the bowl.
• Watching the pot: In the caramelization step, some fond (browned bits) might build up on the bottom of your pot. This fond will add depth to the soup, but it is also easy to burn. Keep an eye on the bottom of your pot, and if it starts to get too dark, splash in some water and scrape the pot with your wooden spoon. I keep a squeeze bottle with water by my stove for this purpose.
• Cookware: I recommend using a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot for this recipe since it will distribute heat evenly during the caramelization step. However, a lighter metal pot will work; just keep in mind that it will heat up faster. This means the steps might not take as long as written, so watch closely for browning.
• Blending the soup: I recommend using a countertop blender to blend part of the soup for the smoothest texture. If you use an immersion/stick blender, first put the soup you’ll be blending in another bowl/container. I tried to shortcut the process by just blending a portion of the soup in the pot, but ended up with some partially blended corn chunks that had a slightly weird texture.

Tip of the Day: Bloom Your Spices

In this recipe, you’ll notice the ground spices are added separately from other ingredients (except garlic). Why not just throw them in with everything else? Well, spices’ distinct flavors come from different compounds, some of which are best transferred through fat. Briefly cooking your spices in your cooking fat—butter, oil, etc.—before you move on to the next step will both strengthen the spices’ flavors and infuse the dish with them. Luckily, the small size of the ground spices makes this a super quick step. Let the spices cook for about 30 seconds, until they start to smell good (yay!).

A few things to keep in mind when blooming spices:

• Ground spices cook very quickly, so be ready to add your next ingredient(s) to the pan right away.
• If spices start to stick to the bottom of the pan and darken too quickly, add a splash of water and scrape the pan to keep them from burning.
• You can bloom your spices as the first step in your recipe by adding them directly to your cooking fat, or you can add them after softening your aromatics (onion, celery, carrots, peppers, etc.) like I do in this recipe. If adding them to a pan with aromatics, first let those ingredients cook until they’ve given off water and it has evaporated. This ensures that you’re cooking the spices in the fat, not the water. If your pan seems too dry, add a little more of your cooking fat.

Try blooming the spices in your favorite recipes and see how much you can boost their flavor!

For more info, check out this article from Serious Eats or this video from America’s Test Kitchen.

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Yield: 4-5 Servings

Chile Cauliflower Corn Chowder

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A creamy chowder packed with veggies and a hint of spice!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. neutral oil, divided (1 Tbsp. + 2 Tbsp.)
• 3 cups corn kernels, thawed or frozen, divided (1 cup + 2 cups)
• ½ Tbsp. salt, or to taste
• ¼ tsp. black pepper, or to taste
• 2 cups cauliflower florets, chopped
• 1 small onion, minced (about 1 cup)
• 1 rib celery, minced (about ½ cup)
• 1 small carrot, minced (about ½ cup)
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1 tsp. cumin
• ¼ tsp. coriander
• ¼ tsp. smoked paprika
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 oz. can mild diced green chilies, undrained (about ½ cup)
• 1/3 cup sour cream or yogurt
• Suggested toppings: additional sour cream, shredded cheese, sliced green onion, cilantro, corn chips

Instructions

1. Preheat 1 Tbsp. neutral oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until you can feel warm air above the pan and the oil runs easily across the surface when tilted, about 3 minutes.
2. Add 1 cup of the corn kernels to the pot and quickly spread them into an even layer with a wooden spoon.
3. Let the corn sit for 2–3 minutes to brown. Once you start to see browning around the edges of the kernels or on the bottom of the pot between them, stir and scrape the bottom of the pot. Continue to cook corn for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. If any spots in the pot start to get too dark, add a splash of water and scrape the pot to dissolve the browned bits.
4. Once the corn is lightly browned with caramelized edges, season with about ¼ tsp. salt and remove to a bowl.
5. Turn the heat down to medium and add the remaining 2 Tbsp. oil to the pot. Then, add the minced onion, celery and carrot along with another ¼ tsp. salt and sauté until the vegetables are somewhat softened and the onion becomes translucent around the edges, about 3–4 minutes.
6. Add 1 tsp. of oil to the pot if it looks dry, then add the garlic, cumin, coriander, and smoked paprika. Sauté until you start to smell the garlic and spices, about 30 seconds. Immediately add the flour and cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring, until the flour coating the vegetables is a medium tan color.
7. Add the remaining 2 cups corn, the cauliflower florets, chicken broth, about 1 tsp. salt, and ¼ tsp. pepper. Scrape the bottom of the pot to dissolve any browned bits, then turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
8. Once the soup is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer 10 minutes.
9. Remove about 3 cups of the soup to a blender or separate container for an immersion blender, and blend until smooth, then stir the blended portion back into the soup.
10. Add the sour cream to a small bowl (I use a bowl I’ll be serving the soup in) and ladle in about 1 cup of soup, whisking to combine to keep the sour cream from clumping. Then, stir the mixture back into the pot.
11. Stir in the caramelized corn kernels and the can of green chiles and season with additional salt or pepper to taste. Add extra sour cream and/or other toppings to your heart’s content. Enjoy!
    

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 436Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 1121mgCarbohydrates: 77gFiber: 10gSugar: 15gProtein: 15g

Please note: nutrition information above is only an estimate and is auto-generated based on generic ingredient information. Actual nutritional value will vary based on specific ingredients used.