Who doesn’t like a chowdah…that’s how we it say back in Boston! As a Portuguese kid who grew up in Southeastern Massachusetts, my first introduction to the infamous Boston style clam chowder was in grammar school. Although, most likely from a can, it was something I always looked forward to. My mother, who was a very traditional Portuguese cook thought the combination of milk and clams was outrageous and would never touch the stuff. I, on the other hand was hungry and ready to embrace my New England culture.
I prepared this chowder back in late August when fresh corn was at it’s peak. I would recommend not waiting a whole year to make this recipe, as you can always use frozen corn kernels with very good results. Keep in mind most frozen vegetables and corn are picked and processed at peak freshness.
My plant based friends will be happy to know this recipe is completely vegan and although I don’t consider myself vegan or vegetarian, however, I was curious to try a version loaded with flavor and richness without using bacon or heavy cream.
So what I decided to do was fire roast some jalapeños and a bell pepper to lend a slightly smokey and sweeter depth of flavor.
For richness, instead of heavy cream, I finished off this chowder with some cashew cream, which added such an amazing velvety texture, you would’ve thought there was cream in it.
You can have this chowder as a starter, or as I meal I often like it topped with seared scallops or grilled shrimp.
Enjoy the “con chowdah!”
Ingredients
- Cashew Cream
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- 1 3/4 cups water
Chowder
- 4 ears of corn cut off the cob (about 4 cups) or frozen corn kernels – save 2 cobs if using fresh corn (this will add extra flavor)
- 2 tbs avocado oil
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 3 celery stalks diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper charred, peeled and diced (*see notes)
- 4 jalapeno chiles charred, seeded, peeled and diced (*see notes)
- 1 lb. small red potatoes diced or quartered
- 1 tsp of dried oregano
- 1 qt. vegetable broth
- 1.5 cups cashew cream
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Cilantro, parsley or scallions to garnish (optional)
- *Fire roast chiles and pepper directly on the stove burner, rotating them until they are completely blistered and charred. Place them in a bowl and cover to allow them to steam in their own heat. When cool enough to handle, peel off all the charred skin. With a small pairing knife cut each pepper in half and scrape off ribs along with seeds.
Directions
- Soak raw cashews in hot water at least an hour before making the chowder. Rinse and drain.
- In a blender puree cashews in 1 3/4 cups of water and set aside.
- Add 2 cups of corn and 1/2 cup of water to a blender and puree until partially smooth and set aside.
- Heat oil in a 6 qt. soup pot until shimmering, add onions, garlic and celery and sauté’ until translucent.
- Stir in chiles, corn, pureed corn, corn cobs, potatoes and vegetable broth.
- Broth should just cover vegetables, and if not add more broth or water.
- Bring chowder to a boil and lower heat to a gentle simmer, cooking until potatoes are just tender.
- Stir in oregano, salt, pepper and cashew cream until evenly incorporated.
- If chowder is too thick, you can add more broth or water until consistency is to your liking.
- Taste for seasoning and adjust if needed.
- Serve hot, garnished with cilantro, parsley or scallions.
6-8 servings