CORN, RED PEPPER AND LEEK SOUP, ADAPTED

I think I could live on soup and muffins. To me, soup is the ultimate in comfort food. And muffins are the perfect dessert – easy to freeze, already portioned and not too sweet. When red peppers were on fire sale recently, I stocked up. Roasting them on the grill is quick and easy, and my freezer is stocked with them. While fresh corn was still available, I bought some for this delicious soup. The recipe was found on cooksrecipes.com, and I adapted it to my preferences. Of course, you don’t have to use fresh corn. Frozen corn is a good alternative. This soup is wonderful – the red peppers, leeks and corn go well together, all contributing to the sweetness that makes this so inviting. The cayenne pepper gives the soup a little kick, and the paprika rounds out the flavors. If you have garden herbs that are begging to be picked, here’s a way to use them.

Corn, Red Pepper and Leek Soup Adapted from cooksrecipes.com Rating: 9 out of 10 Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS: 2 Tbsp. Smart Balance buttery spread or butter 3 leek ribs, cleaned coarsely chopped 2 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped 3 ears fresh corn, scraped from cob, or 2 cups loose-pack frozen corn kernels 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth, if preferred), divided use 1/2 tsp. sea salt (or more, to taste) 1/8 tsp. black or white pepper 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper 3/4 tsp. Hungarian sweet paprika (I used Penzey’s) 2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley + extra for garnish 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil + extra for garnish 1/2 cup heavy cream 1. Heat SB in 3-quart heavy pot and cook leeks till soft over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes. Method 1: (This will give you a smooth soup, with no chunks)Add red peppers and corn and cook another 3-4 minutes. Add 3 cups broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. If you have an immersion blender, use it to emulsify the veggies. Otherwise, transfer mixture to a blender and process till smooth. Return to pot; add remainder of broth, salt, peppers, paprika and herbs and heat again to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer another 5-10 minutes to blend flavors. Taste to adjust seasonings. Stir in cream. Heat through, taste again to adjust seasonings. Serve garnished with herbs. Yield: 6-8 servings Method 2: (This will give you a smooth soup with chunky corn kernels -- this is how I did it.) Add red peppers and cook another 3-4 minutes. Add 3 cups broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. If you have an immersion blender, use it to emulsify the veggies. Otherwise, transfer mixture to a blender and process till smooth. Return to pot; add remainder of broth, corn, salt, peppers, paprika and herbs and heat again to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer another 10-15 minutes to blend flavors and cook the corn. Taste to adjust seasonings. Stir in cream. Heat through, taste again to adjust seasonings. Serve garnished with herbs. Yield: 6-8 servings

SOUTHERN CORN CHOWDER

I've been saving this recipe that was printed in our local paper some time ago. Since I have salt pork left from making clam chowder, I thought this would be a good way to use some of it, although the recipe calls for bacon. This soup turned out great -- Guy and I love soup, and this didn't disappoint. Instead of heavy cream, I used fat-free half and half, so it wasn't as rich, but we enjoyed it any way, because the flavors are good. I also didn't thicken the broth with flour as the recipe calls for, because we don't like flour-thickened soups. You can certainly use heavy cream if you want, and you can thicken the broth with flour if that appeals to you. Oh, and I used roasted red pepper for the red bell pepper, because that's what I had. I reduced the original recipe to make it more size-appropriate for just the two of us. So you will get 2-3 servings out of this recipe, depending on how large your servings are. We're not very big eaters here, because we're small people.

Southern Corn Chowder
Rating: 8 out of 10
1 oz. salt pork or bacon, chopped (remove rind from salt pork before rendering & chopping)
1/2 cup chopped onions
3 Tbsp. finely chopped carrots
3 Tbsp. finely chopped celery
1-1/2 tsp. minced garlic
3 Tbsp. chopped red bell peppers or roasted red bells
1-1/2 cups fresh corn kernels + cream (scrape the corn cob dry with back of knife)
1 Tbsp. flour (optional -- I didn't use it)
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup peeled, cubed potatoes
sea salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup fat-free or regular half and half or heavy cream
1/8 tsp. or less cayenne or ground red pepper
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley + additional parsley for garnish

In a 2-3 quart heavy pot, render the salt pork (or bacon) over medium heat till meat pieces are crisp. Remove meat pieces from pot to a paper towel; reserve. If there is not enough fat rendered, add some extra-virgin olive oil to the pot, then add onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring as needed, until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Add broth, peppers, corn, potatoes, salt and pepper; up heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer soup about 20-30 minutes, till vegetables are tender and flavors have married. Adjust seasonings, adding ground hot pepper and more salt and pepper if needed. Off heat; stir in half and half or cream, the reserved salt pork or bacon and the parsley.
Serve with additional parsley as garnish, if desired. Yield: 2-3 servings