Zesty Scallop and Corn Chowder
I’m really enjoying the whole weekend soup thing – there is something elemental about sitting down at the table, confronted with a bowl of steaming soup and a hunk of warm bread or a hearty salad. Soup is nurturing, fortifying, comforting. I look forward to my now-weekly pot of soup with great anticipation. This Zesty Scallop and Corn Chowder, which is adapted from Sunday Soup by Betty Rosbottom, has become a favorite. It has a savory, hearty broth and is surprisingly spicy (this is not your average seafood chowder, despite the creamy texture and appearance).
One thing I’ve learned in my dealings with soup-making is that you just can’t go wrong with a bacon base. And frankly, a little bit of bacon fat from grass-pastured organic pork is far better than shortening and no worse than a little butter.
Another thing I learned from this soup was how to make a simple soup base of pureed corn and chicken stock – it is remarkably creamy and thick, and when I poured it from the blender into the soup pot, it was like a lightbulb went on in my would-be gourmand brain. There are endless possibilities for a soup base like this. I’ve only begun to imagine.
And now let’s talk about scallops. The recipe called for sea scallops, but when I went to the market and saw that bay scallops were half the price per pound, I asked the fishmonger to explain the difference.
“Nothing except size,” he said. “Both are wild-caught in essentially the same waters.” Naturally, I bought the bay scallops, and instead of quartering them, I simply sliced them in half.
The biggest challenge was locating Spanish smoked paprika – not to be confused with sweet Hungarian paprika (you must find the smoked variety for this – they are not flavor equals). Grocery stores exhausted, I finally landed it at World Market, and then a few weeks later, happened upon it at Costco – in bulk quantity, no less.
Eli actually chose this recipe out of the cookbook (I handed it him and simply said, “Pick a soup”), and when we finally sat down to eat it a few days later, he looked at it just a little dubiously.
“Scallops, right?” he asked.
“Yep,” I replied. “Don’t worry, you’ll like it.”
He picked up his spoon, took a bite, and looked at me in surprise.
“It’s spicy,” he said.
“Mmm hmm,” I replied, my mouth too full of chowder to speak.
The key, I think, is the preparation of the scallops, which are sauteed in oil and spices and their own juices, which creates a lovely, zesty broth that is added to the soup base.
Anyway, make this soup. This weekend. Serve it with some hearty grain bread and a green salad, and feel happy.
Zesty Scallop and Corn Chowder
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled and diced (about 2 large potatoes)
4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
2 cups chicken stock
8 slices smoked nitrite-free bacon, preferably from pastured organic pork, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large sweet yellow onion, chopped
1-1/3 cups half-and-half (or) 2/3 cup heavy cream plus 2/3 cup whole milk
kosher or sea salt, to taste
1 pound bay scallops, halved
1 tablespoon cold-pressed olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Place the potatoes in a medium pot with cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook 10-12 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork. Drain and set aside.
In a blender or food processor, puree together 2 cups of the corn and 1 cup of the chicken stock. Set aside.
In a large soup pot over medium heat, saute the bacon until just crisp. Watch it closely, and move it around frequently with a spoon or spatula, so that it doesn’t overcook. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Pour all the leftover bacon fat into a metal or glass container, then put 1 tablespoonful back into the pot (note: you can put the bacon fat in the refrigerator in a covered dish once it has cooled, grandma-style, and use it later to fry potatoes or add flavor to green beans).
Add the onion and remaining 2 cups of corn to the bacon drippings in the pot and saute, stirring continually, until they soften and begin to brown, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the remaining chicken stock and the corn puree, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook 10 minutes. Add the cooked potatoes and bacon and the half-and-half, and lower the heat so that the soup is just heating gently. Season with salt to taste.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together the paprika, cumin, black pepper, and cayenne. Toss the scallops in the spice mixture until they are coated evenly. Pour the olive oil into a skillet or saute pan set over medium-high heat, and when a drop of water sizzles on the oil’s surface, add the scallops. Saute 3-4 minutes, stirring very gently and turning so that both sides get cooked evenly, and season lightly with salt. A sauce will form as the scallops cook.
Add the scallops and the sauce to the soup, and test to see if it is heated through. If not, raise the heat a little, keeping a close eye on the chowder and stirring gently on occasion, until it is hot. Serve immediately.
