Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder

Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder
Inspired by Vegetarian Planet, by Didi Emmons (Harvard Common Press, 1997).

This is such a timeless, "peasant" way of cooking: combining earthy harvest produce--onions, mineral and antioxidant-rich sweet potatoes, and corn--in a single pot to make a nutritious meal that tastes like the essence of autumn, with no fuss at all.

Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder is so comforting and delicious. Just add a wedge of cornbread and a crisp salad with a few nuts and maybe a sliced apple and you’ll have a supper that warms the body and the heart. Here is the simple recipe:

Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder
INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon mild paprika
2 1/2 tablespoons unbleached white flour
6 cups low-fat milk
3 corn tortillas, chopped into pieces
2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Squeeze of lime
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (optional)

1. Melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add onions, garlic, cumin, and paprika and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Add flour and whisk constantly for 30 seconds. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Add tortillas and sweet potatoes and simmer over low heat, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes, until sweet potatoes are tender.

3. Add corn kernels and simmer 2 more minutes. Add salt, pepper, and lime juice, stirring to combine.

4. Serve soup in individual bowls, sprinkled with fresh cilantro, if desired.

Serves 4.