Mexican Corn & Sweet Potato Chowder
Mexican Corn & Sweet Potato Chowder
Mexican Corn & Sweet Potato Chowder
Mexican Corn & Sweet Potato Chowder

Mexican Corn & Sweet Potato Chowder

David Venable

Why not experiment with corn chowder, right? This tasty Mexican variety has a comfort-food feel with an added twist.

Soup

  • 1 lb fresh chorizo sausage, casing removed
  • 2 cups onions, medium dice
  • 1 Tbsp garlic, minced
  • 2 cups red pepper, medium diced
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 6 ears of corn, shucked and corn kernels cut off the cob (save the cobs)
  • 1-1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and medium dice
  • 7 cups chicken stock
  • 1 tsp seeded and minced chipotle pepper in adobo
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
  • 2 cups crumbled queso fresco

Preparation

To prepare the soup, heat a 5- to 6-qt Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Brown the sausage, breaking it up into crumbles as it cooks. Add the onion, garlic, and pepper and sauté until onion is translucent. Incorporate the chili powder and cumin. Cook for 1 minute. Place in the corn kernels, cobs, sweet potatoes, chicken stock, chipotle pepper, salt, and pepper. Simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
Remove the corn cobs. Being careful of the hot liquid, purée about 4 cups of the soup in a blender until smooth. Pour the puréed mixture back into the remaining soup, and stir in the heavy cream and cilantro.
To prepare the pesto, put all of the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor. Process until mixture is not quite smooth.
To assemble the dish, top each bowl of soup with crumbled queso fresco and pesto.

Pumpkin Seed Pesto

  • 1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
  • 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1 scallion, cut into 3 pieces
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1/4 cup pickled jalapeño slices
  • 3 Tbsp oil
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Cook's Notes

Topping the soup with Pumpkin Seed Pesto is quite yummy, but you can also spread the pesto on bread and dip it in the soup instead. Feel free to add other toppings, like diced avocado or crumbled tortilla chips, before serving.

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