Sasha's Kitchen: Corn Chowder With Crab, Potatoes and Mushrooms

The following recipe was inspired by my desire to prepare a crab and corn chowder.  I researched a number of recipes and was loosely inspired by a recipe from an old issue of Gourmet magazine.  However, I made a number of changes, especially changing the spice mixture of the chowder.  The end result was good, but perhaps a bit on the busy side with a variety of different vegetables.  Next time I make the chowder, I think I will adapt the recipe further.  Here's what I plan to change the next time I make the recipe:  I will leave out the celery and leeks to make the recipe less busy, and I will puree the corn as a variation.  However, in my opinion, it was lovely this way, as well.  In addition, in the summer, it would be nice to prepare the recipe using fresh ears of sweet corn, but since it's only March, that was not an option for me at this time.

Despite my desire for the perfect chowder, this recipe was still very enjoyable and had a lovely texture.  I highly recommend making it, but encourage readers to make the variations that I suggested to make the soup a bit less complex.  Still, the broth had a lovely flavor and the potatoes, mushrooms, crab and corn all complimented each other nicely.  I have written the recipe below with the changes I will make next time incorporated.

Crab Corn Chowder (loosely adapted from this recipe)
4 cans of organic corn
3 cups whipping cream
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped leeks [I suggest omitting these next time]
1 cup chopped celery [I suggest omitting these next time]
20 small baby golden potatoes
6-8 oz baby bella mushrooms
1 1/2 tsp ground fennel
1 1/2 tsp ground paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
pepper to taste
2 T butter
3/4 lb lump crabmeat
2 T sherry
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
chives

First, puree the corn, or leave the corn whole (I might try pureeing next time in a miniprep).  Then, combine the corn with the whipping cream and chicken broth and summer for five minutes.  Set aside.

Heat 3 T of canola oil in a large saute pan.  Add the onions, fennel, potatoes, cayenne pepper and paprika.  Also add the leeks and celery if you are using them (I plan to leave them out next time to make the soup a bit less busy and to focus more on the other flavors).  Saute about 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender, including the potatoes - until the point that they are about halfway cooked.  Add mixture to the broth and simmer until the potatoes are tender, for about another 10 minutes.  Add some pepper to the broth, to taste.

Saute the mushrooms in a separate pan with the butter and sherry, and add to the soup.  Saute the crab in a bit of canola oil.  To serve, place a bit of crab in each bowl and top with chowder.  Season with pepper and chives.

This soup was enjoyable, but is a bit off from what I had hoped for when I was craving a crab chowder. I think it would be even better with the variations I suggest, and I think I will explore additional modifications the next time I am inclined to work on the recipe.