Corn and Lobster Chowder

Farrar Food Photography

For my January column in Fort Worth Texas Magazine, I went to Chef Sarah Hooton, Manager of the Central Market Cooking School in Fort Worth, and asked her if we could work together to “skinny up” some of their traditional recipes. The recipe below can be found in the Central Market 20th Anniversary Cookbook.

Soup is one of those foods that stirs the memory and warms the soul. And soup for supper is the perfect choice as we move into the darker, cooler nights of winter. But so many of our favorites are filled with heavy cream, fats and calories.

I actually gave up making New Year’s resolutions quite a few years ago. They just seem to be a recipe for failure. [no pun intended] But as I get a bit older, I’m trying, like so many of us, to cook and eat cleaner and healthier. And what a difference it makes. So as I pondered the idea of soups for supper, I thought it would be helpful for all of us if we tried our hand at taking some of our favorite soup recipes and removing some of those nasty fats and calories we’re all trying to curb.

Some of the best homemade soups around can be found at Central Market. They make all their soups from scratch every single day. Soup can be a meal in itself, or paired with your favorite panini, quesadilla, baked potato or salad.

Corn Lobster Chowder

Adapted from Central Market’s 20^th Anniversary Cookbook pg. 155

Serves approx. 6-8 people

Ingredients

6 ears fresh corn (time saver: frozen corn)

3 T Better Than Bouillon Lobster Base (at Central Market)

2 lb. lobster meat, claw & tail meat, rough chopped

2 bay leaves

3 sprigs fresh thyme

½ lb. red potatoes, cut into 1” pieces

¼  lb. Canadian bacon, cubed ½” (a healthier choice than regular bacon)

1 T Canola oil

1/3 C chopped shallots

1 rib celery, chopped ½”

1 red Bell Pepper, chopped ½”

2T all purpose flour

1 ½ C fat free half & half (a healthier choice than heavy cream)

Pinch cayenne pepper

¼ C chopped chives

Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Cut kernels off the cob. Set corn aside and reserve cobs.
2. In a large pot, bring 3 quarts of water up to a boil with the corn cobs. Simmer for about 30 minutes (you may need to skim off some of the foam) until the water reduces to about 2 quarts.
3. At this point, remove the corn cobs and add the Lobster Base.
4. In another large pot, heat the oil over medium heat, add bacon, shallots, celery and red bell pepper. Sauté until tender.  Sprinkle flour on top and stir until flour creates a paste, or roux.  Stir constantly and cook for about 2 minutes.
5. Slowly add the Lobster Stock 1 cup at a time whisking into the mixture of roux and vegetables. When all stock is added – add potatoes.
6. Cook potatoes until tender – about 20 minutes.
7. When potatoes are tender, add fat free half & half, corn, cayenne and salt & pepper. Let simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
8. Lastly, add Lobster meat.
9. Remove from heat and serve with chives on top.

Skinny Soup for Supper. Corn & Lobster Chowder.