Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper(to taste)
1teaspoonground cumin
¼teaspooncayenne pepper
8ears corn
⅔cupheavy cream
3cupschicken broth
2 to 2 ½cupsshredded cooked chicken
2tablespoonsminced fresh thyme leaves
¼cupcrumbled cooked bacon
Minced scallions or cilantro or parsley(to serve; optional)
Instructions
In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, pepper, celery, and shallots, season with salt and pepper, and sauté for about 5 minutes until everything is fairly tender.
Meanwhile, remove the kernels from the corn and puree about 1 1/2 cups of the kernels in a food processor or blender with the cream. Add the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a simmer. Stir in the remaining corn kernels, the pureed corn and cream mixture, shredded chicken, and thyme. Return the mixture to a simmer, adjust the heat, and simmer for a few minutes until the corn is crisp-tender and just cooked. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the bacon, scallion, cilantro, and/or parsley as desired.
Notes
Like many soups, this chicken and corn chowder offers up some good alternatives for topping each bowl as the person wishes. Crispy bits of bacon, sliced scallions, cilantro, parsley…all of the above, none of the above, some of the above, your choice. Put out little bowls of everything and let each diner make their own decisions.