We had a crowd over the 4th of July weekend and survived hurricane Arthur nicely. We decided not to grill in the downpour, so we opted for rotisserie chicken and a variety of cold salads. Today, I had leftover potatoes, raw corn off the cob and chicken and concocted this chowder while enjoying a special gin and tonic garnished with lemon, lime and pineapple sage. (See photo!)8 cobs of raw corn (or cooked or grilled will work)
3 cups half and half
20 or more leaves fresh tarragon
Trader Joe's savory chicken stock (1 packet)
2 cups potatoes, chunked and cooked
2 cups grilled chicken or rotisserie chicken chunks
2 large leeks
3 cloves garlic
salt and pepper to taste
some flour or Wondra
Cut the raw kernels off of 8 cobs of corn. (I did this in advance when I knew we would not be grilling the corn. I stored the corn and the cobs separately in Ziplocs in the frig.) Place the kernel-less cobs in a saucepan or crockpot and cover with 2 cups of half and half and about 20 leaves of French or Texas tarragon and some generous grinds of fresh pepper. Simmer very low on the stove or high in the crockpot. Remove the cobs after a few hours in the crockpot or an hour in a saucepan. Toss the cobs.
Add the kernels of raw corn to the half and half and cook for 10 minutes in a saucepan on low or 1/2 in the crockpot on high. Add one Trader Joe's chicken stock pouch. These are potent in flavor without adding much liquid.
Slice 2 large leeks and place in a saute pan with 1/4 c. melted butter. Add 3 pressed cloves of garlic and some fresh sea salt and more pepper. Cook until limp and then add 2 T Wondra flour or regular flour. Let this bubble and cook until golden and then add 1 c. half and half to it. Pour this into the crockpot, scraping the pan for all flavor.
Add cooked chicken pieces (I added 2 cups) and 2 cups chopped cooked potatoes. Heat on low about another hour in the crockpot or 20 min. in a sauce or soup pan.
Delicious! Serve with bread or croissants. Garnish the soup with fresh sprigs of tarragon.
