Chicken and Corn Cheesy Chowder

Recipe:

Ingredient notes:

• Broth and chicken. Here you can follow the recipe and make your own chicken broth from chicken legs to use in the soup. Or you can use premade chicken broth or stock to add to the soup, such as sauteed chicken. Or use leftover fried chicken from last lunch or dinner.
• Corn. I use canned – it is sweeter and softer. You can substitute frozen or seasonal fresh corn on the cob.
• Ham. Any whole sliced ham will do. If you like and can – substitute bacon, frying it more than the ham in the recipe.
• Bell peppers. Well, this is the point of playing with substitutions. You can substitute mushrooms, broccoli, or roasted eggplant for the peppers.
• Cheese. I use cheddar in this soup – it has a pretty bright cheesy flavor and a nice color that partially transfers to the soup. If you prefer, you can use any other semi-hard cheese with a strong flavor. Or go wild and add Parmesan, Pecorino, or Grana Padano – you’ll use 3 times less than cheddar.

Let’s start cooking.

Prepare the broth. Put the chicken legs in a pot, add the crushed garlic cloves, the bay leaf, the peppercorns and the onion incised crosswise. Add water and a little salt.

Place the pot on the stove and bring to a boil over medium heat. Then reduce the heat to a minimum and simmer for about 30 minutes without a lid. After this time, remove the chicken legs from the broth and let them cool slightly to handle.

Continue cooking the broth for another 10-15 minutes.

Remove the meat from the chicken legs and cut into pieces.

While the broth is simmering, dice the potatoes. Finely chop the bell pepper and onion. Thinly slice the ham.

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the ham and cook until browned on both sides.

Transfer to a plate.

Reduce heat to medium, add 2 more tablespoons oil to pan, and add onions and bell peppers. Cook, stirring, for about 3-4 minutes. Add the finely chopped garlic and cook for another half minute.

Add the flour.

Cook, stirring, for about one minute. Pour in the hot broth, stirring constantly.

Add potatoes.

Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Finely chop the roasted ham. Grate the cheese.

When the potatoes are done, add the heavy cream to the pot.

Stir and bring to a boil. Taste and add salt if necessary. Remember that the cheese will be added to the soup a little later.

Add the corn and chicken to the pot.

Add the ham and cheese.

Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and melt the cheese.

Remove from heat and let stand under lid for 10 minutes. Pour into bowls, add chopped herbs to taste and serve.

Enjoy!