Shrimp Corn Chowder

This creamy soup has sweet and buttery notes that work wonderfully with Chardonnay. Substitute scallops for the shrimp if you prefer.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 leek
1 medium yellow or white onion
1 stalk celery
1 Tablespoon butter
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 red or Yukon gold potatoes
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
4 ears fresh sweet corn or 4 cups frozen corn
2 1/2 cups water
3/4 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined and cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup half-and-half
Salt to taste
2 Tbs. chopped cilantro, optional

Method

Chop the light green and white part of the leek only, discarding the dark green parts. Rinse chopped leeks thoroughly, to remove all the dirt and sand. Finely dice onion, celery, and add to leeks. Peel and thinly slice then dice the potato and set aside.

Heat a heavy saucepan and add the butter. Add the onion, celery and leek mixture, and stir to lightly with the butter. Turn heat to low and cover pan, cook for 5 minutes or until leeks soften. Add the broth, one cup of the water, the potatoes, garlic, and the cumin and cayenne. Simmer gently, uncovered for 20 minutes. Meanwhile cut the corn from the cobs.

Add the corn kernels and remaining water, return to a simmer for five more minutes or until corn is just cooked. Remove from stove and partly puree, using an immersion blender, or whirl only half the soup briefly in a blender, and combine with unblended soup. Add shrimp and simmer until just barely cooked, 2 minutes. Add the half-and-half and gently heat, do not boil. Salt to taste and garnish with chopped cilantro, if desired.

Serving Suggestion

Serve with the Richland Chardonnay 2008.

Estimated Prep Time: 20 minutes
Estimated Cooking Time: 30 minutes