Fresh Corn Chowder (gluten-free, no milk, cream or cheese)

Looking for a corn chowder but don’t necessarily jive with dairy or flour? This corn chowder may be perfect for you! Of course it doesn’t have that heavy creamy taste to it, but it does have the chowder mouthfeel and the crunch of the corn and other veggies. That is what we are looking for right?

Tapioca starch is one of my favorite alternatives to flour when used in breading fish, veggies and chicken as well as thickening soups, stews, and my Big Island Beef Shepards Pie and my dairy free chicken pot pie

Anthony’s Organic Tapioca Flour Starch, 2.5lbs, Gluten Free & Non GMO

Recipe for fresh corn chowder:

• 3 tablespoons butter (or substitute olive or coconut oil)
• 2-3 tablespoons tapioca starch
• 4 medium carrots sliced and chopped fine (about 1 ½ cups)
• 1 medium-large onion diced
• 5 small-medium russet potatoes washed, peeled and chopped fine
• 3-4 stalks of celery washed and diced ( you want the ratio of onion to carrot to celery to be similar, 1:1:1). And the potatoes and the corn will be the star of the show and will also aim to have 1:1 ratio between them.
• 1 heaping spoon mined garlic
• enough filtered water to cover veggies plus a little more (you are going to add in corn)
• 2 tablespoons concentrated chicken stock (can use vegetable stock (bouillon) or chicken or vegetable stock).
• 2 tablespoons or so fresh chopped thyme (I use a thyme like plant that grows in the tropics we call Stick Thyme).
• 4 small fresh ears of sweet corn, corn cut off gently by rotating the corn as you cut with a small serrated knife.

Steps:

1. Melt butter and sauté onions until translucent.
2. Then add garlic, onion, celery, carrots and potatoes and stir frequently for 5-10 minutes.
3. Next, add tapioca starch and stir several times to coat the veggies in butter/oil and tapioca starch.
4. Then add water and bouillon and bring to a boil.
5. Continue to boil 10-15 minutes until all veggies are tender.
6. Add in thyme.
7. The soup should be thickening at this point as the tapioca and the potato starch form a “creamy” broth.
8. If it still seems to watery at this point, you can remove some of the broth and add another tablespoon of tapioca starch to it, wish and add back into soup.
9. Once the broth is almost at its desired consistency (it will continue to thicken as the potatoes break down), add the corn.
10. Let the corn cook for 5-8 minutes as you season the soup with salt and pepper and serve warm

This soup is lovely wish fresh chopped parsley added at serving time.