Category Archives: Corn

Christine is full of good questions:

“Have you ever cooked with that milk that’s low-fat but supposedly tastes richer? I love chowder, but am trying to lose a few… I’m wondering if that milk would do anything weird when cooked.”

I’ve never actually used the richer-tasting lowfat milk, but I thought I’d try and create a chowder without all the fat. So I created this spicy corn chowder. I used Hood’s Simply Smart 1% Lowfat milk. I used cornstarch to help thicken the chowder at the end in order to knock out some more fat. The chowder came out thick, creamy, and delicious!

Spicy Corn Chowder
Serves 6.
250 cal., 3g fat, 4g fiber

2 lbs., frozen corn
1 tsp. olive oil
4 green onions, white parts minced and green parts sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large jalepeno pepper, seeds and membranes removed and chopped finely
2 roasted poblano peppers, skins and seeds removed and cut into 1/4 x 1/2 strips
4 cups Simply Smart 1% Lowfat milk
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. chipotle chili powder
1 tsp. smoked spanish paprika
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. cornstarch whisked with 1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Spread frozen corn in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until some of the corn begins to turn brown. Stir the corn every 15-20 minutes for even browning.

Roast the poblano peppers. You can do this directly over the gas burner if you are lucky enough to have a gas oven. Use tongs to flip the peppers as they get charred and the skin starts to bubble. Otherwise, you can put the peppers in the oven with the corn until they are charred. You’ll want to turn the peppers in the oven during the cooking process.

Once roasted, put the peppers in a plastic container with a lid and let them cool. Once cool enough to handle, pull off the skin which should come off easily — this doesn’t have to be perfect, you might wind up with a little skin still attached to the pepper. Remove the stems and seeds and cut into 1/4″ x 1/2″ strips.

In a large pot over medium heat, sweat the white part of the green onion, jalepeno pepper, and garlic in the olive oil for 2-3 minutes.

Add the poblano pepper strips and corn. Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add the cumin, chili powder, and paprika.

Stir in the chicken/veggie stock and milk. Bring to a simmer. Add the cornstarch and simmer and cook until the soup is thick — about 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To get a creamier soup, use an immersion blender to blend some of the corn and liquid. This will give your soup a thicker body. If you don’t have an immersion blender, take about 1 1/2 cups of the soup and use a blender to blend until smooth. Add back to the soup.

Stir in reserved green onion tops.