Recipe for New England lobster and corn chowder
From Saved by Soup: More Than 100 Delicious Low-Fat Soups to Eat and Enjoy Every Day, you selected two soups to try, and I made an executive decision -- based entirely on a whim and the weather -- to start with this chowder. Most New England chowders are enriched with cream, and sometimes with bacon or salt pork, too. The recipes in Saved by Soup take a lighter approach. This chowder gets its creamy "mouth feel" from buttermilk, and draws sweetness from the corn and lobster. You can certainly substitute shrimp, if you live in a place where lobster is either expensive or hard to find.
New England lobster and corn chowder
Serves 6.
Ingredients
1 tsp canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 large Yukon Gold potato, diced
2 cups frozen corn kernels, defrosted
8 sprigs of fresh thyme
4 cups chicken or fish broth, homemade or low-sodium store-bought
1 cup cold water
1 cup buttermilk
1 lb cooked lobster meat (or raw peeled and deveined shrimp)
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions
Heat the oil in a heavy 4-quart Dutch oven or sauce pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, 2-3 minutes. Add the potato, corn and thyme sprigs; stir in the broth and water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer until the potato is tender when pierced with a sharp knife, 15-20 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs.
Stir in the buttermilk and lobster, and cook until the lobster is heated through, approximately 5 minutes. Season with salt and plenty of black pepper to taste. Garnish each individual serving with a bit of parsley.
Print recipe only.
Ha! This is one of my favorite soup books and I just gave a copy to one of my friends for her birthday. I have never tried this particular recipe, so will have to crack open my book this week.
This sounds delicious. (Oh the luxury of having lobster in soup. That's definitely a New England thing.) I love the idea of using buttermilk.
Look at those luscious chunks of lobster! This is quintessential New England chowdah, Lydia!
I voted for this one! Thank you for making it and sharing the recipe, it looks like a perfect soup for a cold day.
Cookin' Canuck, the more I cook from this book, the more I love it. I don't miss the cream at all!
Kalyn, the buttermilk adds just a bit of richness but not with the heavy mouth feel of cream. Honestly, though, this soup would be great without the buttermilk, too.
Susan, doesn't this remind you of home?
Andrea, I'm so glad you voted for this. It's quick and easy to make, and the corn and lobster combination makes it feel like summer.