Spicy Corn and Linguiça Chowder

My week of soups got delayed a little bit by a last-minute invitation to a family gathering on Friday and my kids' insistence on a Chinese Food Weekend, so my big plans for a new soup a day had to be taken off the back burner and refrigerated.

Today's Spicy Corn and Linguiça Chowder was completely worth the wait. I can't wait to try out the other soups. :)

Spicy Corn and Linguiça Chowder

Ingredients:

• 3 ears corn
  
• 4 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 12 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• large white onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 pound linguiça sausage, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces - For a little more spice, I'd use chouriço.
• 1 small hot red pepper, finely diced
  
• ½ red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 medium red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• salt and pepper
  
• Smoked paprika for garnish
  

Directions:

1. Husk the corn and remove all the silk. With a sharp knife, slice the corn from cob. Set the corn aside in a bowl.
   


2. Break the cobs in half and place them in a large soup pot. Add the cream, stock, garlic, thyme, bay leaf and 1/4 cup of the chopped onions to pot. Simmer over very low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
   


3. Strain the mixture through a sieve set over a large bowl, pressing on the solids very well with the back of a large ladle to squeeze out every drop of creamy corny goodness.
   


4. Set the creamy corn stock aside. You can even refrigerate it for a few days if you like.
   


5. Cook the linguiça in large pot or dutch oven over medium heat until cooked through, nicely browned, turning occasionally. Remove the sausage and set aside.
   


6. To the rendered fat from the sausage, add the remaining chopped onion, minced hot pepper and the red bell pepper and sauté 5 minutes.
   
   
7. Add the flour and stir well, cooking for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the creamy corn stock until smooth.
   


8. Add the browned sausage and potatoes. Cover and cook about 25 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.
   


9. Add the fresh corn and cook 10 minutes. Taste and then season with salt and pepper. For extra spice, a few drops of hot sauce would work out well, too.
   


10. Ladle chowder into bowls. Garnish with smoked paprika and serve.
    

Notes:

• You can easily prepare this a day or so ahead. Just cover and refrigerate it, then reheat in the microwave or over a low burner before continuing, thinning with additional chicken stock if necessary.
• I made the creamy corn stock three days ago and then just refrigerated it until today. It worked out great.
  

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