Corn Chowder

Another great recipe from Celia Brooks Brown's 'World Vegetarian Classics' It's creamy, filling and of course very tasty! I liked adding the corn kernels at the end as they keep their colour, flavour and add some nice texture.
The only thing I did different was to add some grilled red pepper (capsicum) on top - because they were on special and I liked the colour!

So here is her recipe representing New England, USA (interestingly, representing NZ was also corn - corn fritters)

Corn Chowder
Serves 6

4 fresh corn-on-the-cob (ears of fresh corn)
500ml/ 16 fl oz/ 2 cups water
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
2 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 t dried sage, crushed
1 t fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 t dried thyme
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 celery sticks (stalks) chopped
1 large potato, peeled and chopped
200g/ 7 oz/ generous 3/4 c cream cheese
125 ml/ 4 fl oz/ 1/2 c milk

In a large bowl, stand each corn-on-the-cob upright and strip the kernels by cutting downwards with a sharp knife, set aside. Place the stripped cobs in a large saucepan and add the water, a generous sprinkle of salt and the bay leaves. Bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Discard the cobs and bay leaves.

Heat the oil in a separate saucepan. Add the onion and cook until translucent (soft and becoming see-through). Add the herbs and remaining vegetables and cook for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the cob stock and simmer until the potato is collapsing. Meanwhile, place the corn kernels in another saucepan amd pour in enough cold water to barely cover. Bring to the boil and cook for two minutes. Do not drain; set aside.

Add the cream cheese and milk to the soup mixture, then puree until smooth, ideally with a hand-held blender. Stir in the corn kernels with their cooking liquid. Give the chowder one more whizz if desired, to break up corn kernels slightly. Reheat and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.