I made this chowder last evening mainly because in our last farm box we received several small white-fleshed sweet potatoes. Of course as luck would have it, we already had some on hand. Now granted, we love sweet potatoes. But there is a limit to how much of any kind of food I want to eat or serve several nights in a row. (And yes that includes chocolate and hamburgers!) So then, what in the heck to do with all the bloody sweet potatoes? Mr. C. suggested just baking them, and serving in the normal manner. Which in this house means baked, split in two, slathered with butter, and sprinkled with salt and pepper. OK, that sounds good for 2 of them. Maybe even 4 of them. But that still leaves me with a small crops worth still to be dealt with. But I’m always up for a good challenge. So to the internet I proceeded.

I’ve been on a real soup and chowder kick lately, so that’s the direction I decided to take. And oh am I glad I did. I found the basics for this recipe on the runningonrealfood.com site. When I told Mr. C. about the recipe, he asked me those three little words every cook knows are eventually going to come out of someone’s mouth when chowder is mentioned – “is there bacon”? I told him bacon was not in the original recipe, but it certainly would make a fine addition. So this recipe includes bacon. It also includes a wee bit of crushed red pepper flakes and fresh parsley. (I use crushed red pepper flakes a lot in my cooking. Not much, just a few flakes to keep things interesting. I also include fresh parsley whenever possible.)

As you glance through the recipe, you will note, that with the exception of the tiny bit of fat rendered as the bacon fries, there is no other fat included. There are also no dairy products. So this is a fairly low fat and healthy chowder. And truly, it doesn’t need any shredded cheese or sour cream. It is perfect unto itself. And I could have left it as such. But no, I decided to accompany the chowder with buttermilk biscuits. And not just any buttermilk biscuits.

I had developed a recipe for Huntsman Cheese and Chive Buttermilk Drop Biscuits that I was anxious to try. So I did. And I am here to tell you, the biscuits were outrageously delicious and went really well with this amazing chowder. So my next post will be for the biscuits I served last evening. But back to this recipe.

The first thing I need to mention is that this chowder is truly delicious. And to make it all the more appealing, very easy to prepare. And for all of you for whom time is of the essence when preparing dinner, there is no long simmering required to produce the lovely depth of flavor base for this chowder. And truly, I can’t think of any reason even the most picky of eaters wouldn’t enjoy this dish. So there you go. Dinner in a pot.

So as always, keep preparing and serving delicious food to your family.   And especially with winter just around the corner, remember that nothing says warm and cozy, healthy and happy, safe and cherished, like a big old bowl of soup or chowder. (Of course chocolate chip cookies work well too.)      

We are all going to be subjected to a long and isolated spell of being housebound until Covid-19 is brought under control. And having to stay inside because its winter is definitely not going to make life easier for any of us. In fact, just the opposite. But the more we as cooks can do to help our families cope with the boredom and stay as healthy as possible, the better. And there’s no better way I can think of to make that happen than by preparing interesting, healthy, and delicious food. If nothing else, it will be fun to tell your family all about a new dish when you are invariably asked what’s for dinner. If it happen to be this chowder you are preparing at the time, I would advise starting the discourse with the first ingredient listed below. Peace and love to all.

4-6 strips of meaty, thick bacon, cut into small pieces

1 c. chopped onion

2 stalks celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 c. (more or less) cubed sweet potato  

3 c. vegetable broth, or additional broth if you like a more liquid base for your chowder

2 tsp. chili powder  

1 tsp. paprika  

pinch crushed red pepper flakes

¼ tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 c. (more or less) frozen corn

1 T. chopped fresh parsley  

Fry the bacon until very crisp in a heavy soup pot. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon to a medium sized mixing bowl. Set aside.

Add the onion and celery to the pot and cook until the onion starts to soften. (The onion will also start to get a little brown from the bits left behind while frying the lean bacon.) Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add the sweet potato, broth, chili powder, paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Bring to a light simmer and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the diced red bell pepper and simmer until the sweet potato is fork tender. (Just cook until tender, not mushy.) This only takes a few minutes more. Then add the corn.

Remove about one half of the soup to the bowl with the cooked bacon. Using an immersion blender, whirl the remaining soup until it’s kind of creamy but there are still some small chunks. Then add the unblended soup back into the pot along with the cooked bacon. Taste and adjust seasoning. Bring just to a boil, stir in the parsley, and serve piping hot.

Please note: to make this chowder vegetarian, sauté the onion and celery in 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil. Then add the garlic and go from there.