Roasted Corn Chowder - GLUTEN FREE

Toasting corn makes an amazing crackling noise and the aroma is intoxicating. This soup is creamy from the almond milk and has a smoky flavor from the fire roasted corn. The turkey bacon brings everything together and makes this soup a meal. I believe there is an unwritten rule that says, you have to make a pot of soup, once a week during the Fall.

This is one of my daughter's favorite soups and she requests it when the weather gets cool. You would think this soup was very difficult to make since it's loaded with flavor, but it's our secret that you can make it in less than an hour.

Corn has a rich history and is loaded with B vitamins and vitamin C, as well as magnesium and potassium. Yellow corn is also a good source of two antioxidants, zeaxanthin and lutein. Once you remove the kernels from the cob, don't throw away the cob. The cob contains "corn milk" and is perfect for making soup. Corn milk is the white liquid that you see if you scrape your knife along the cob once the kernels are removed. This liquid is sweet and full of corn flavor.

Let's make a great pot of fire roasted corn chowder. You'll need:

3 large ears of corn - Husked

1 lb Butterball Turkey bacon- chopped

3 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion diced

1 large potato -peeled and diced small

1 can corn

2 cans of Green Giant Creamed Style Corn

1 clove of garlic

1/4 tsp liquid smoke

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp parsley

1 bay leaf

4 cups unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup Idahon Instant Mashed Potato Flakes

Husk the corn and put it directly on the grates of the stove to roast. I use a small cooling rack just for roasting vegetables indoors. DO NOT TOUCH THE WIRE RACK once you introduce heat to it. Sounds silly to mention it but I have burns that are not silly. My mind didn't connect to my fat little hand fast enough to say, "NO". Roast the corn and turn it get the kernels charred evenly. Cool and cut the kernels off the cob, and put to the side. Do not throw away the cob, you're going to add them to the soup to extract the corn milk (see above).

In a large stock pot heat the oil and add the chopped onions. Cook until it starts to soften and get translucent, then add the garlic. Cook for 2 mins and add the chopped potatoes and chopped turkey bacon. Cook until the bacon starts to get light brown (approx. 5 mins) and add the cans of corn.

Green Giant Creamed Style Corn is gluten-free, casein-free, and soy-free. It's very important to check all your ingredients to ensure that they are gluten free or processed in a gluten free facility. I used Idahoan Mashed Potatoes and Green Giant Creamed Style and both are gluten free. Cook this bacon and corn mixture for 10 minutes.

Add the unsweetened almond milk, the corn cobs and the spices to the pot and allow to simmer on low for 15 minutes. This is the point of this recipe where I wish I could do "scratch and sniff" on the pictures so you can smell how good this is!

Remove the corn cobs and tell them "thank you for adding flavor to my soup but your work here is done" and throw them away. Allow the soup to cool a little before you use an immersion blender to puree the soup. You want to leave it a little chunky and not puree it smooth. After all this, is a chowder and not a bisque.

Stir in the potato flakes as a thickening agent for the soup and garnish with the roasted corn kernels.

Okay, I'll admit that after I took the picture of the soup, I ate the ENTIRE BOWL. Hey, I think they call that quality control, no?

Enjoy this recipe!