So tonight it popped in my head and I couldn't get it out of my mind. I don't have those 20 something volumes anymore but I figured I could come close to something that resembled corn chowder.
I made a base for chowder which is flour cooked in butter making a rue. Once it's cooked (not too long or it looses it's thickening ability) add chicken broth. About 4 cups of broth. Then add about 2 cups of diced potatoes (I used about 4 large Yukon golds). Let this simmer till the potatoes are nice and tender. Add the corn (I used frozen sweet white corn). Then add your seasoning. Sorry I didn't measure...just kept adding seasoning and tasting till I got it right. I can tell you what I did put in though:
minced dried onion (you could dice 1/2 an onion in the beginning though and add it when you added the potatoes
dried parsley
celery seed
salt
pepper
garlic
Let it simmer till everything has cooked and the flavors have melded together.
We had this with bread and butter.
Substitutions:
You could add diced celery when you add the potatoes instead of celery seed.
You could use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth for a truly vegetarian meal.
2 comments:
Okay...I give....how much butter are we talking about....a stick, half a stick. I can probably figure out the flour part (maybe) but since I've never heard of a "rue", I'm pretty much in the dark here. Help!!
I just realized that I never answered this question. Sorry about that. A rue is a mixture of butter and flour that is cooked giving it the ability to be a thickening agent. You can use it to thicken sauces, gravies, and soups. You first melt some butter in a skillet (about 2 tbsp usually does the trick) and about 1/4 c of flour. There is no set rule about how much for a rue and quite frankly, I don't measure it anymore. If it looks too dry, then I add more butter. You just want to lightly cook the flour (not too long or it will lose it's ability to thicken). Once you have the rue, you can start to thin it with broth, water, or milk. Whisking continually while adding liquid assures you have no lumps. Continue adding and whisking till you have the desired amount. As it bubbles and cooks, it will thicken.
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