cozy + forgiving potato + kale chowder
I made this “chowder” on a whim during the first few weeks of our quarantine. It’s really easy and forgiving and I got a few questions about recipe specifics so I thought I’d do a little writeup here. If you’d like to cook along I originally posted this on Instagram stories.
what I used
Onion, garlic, butter (substitute vegan butter), olive oil, salt + pepper, ap flour, chicken stock (substitute any kind of stock or broth, miso + water, etc.), red potatoes (sub whatever you have), fresh kale (sub frozen), frozen corn (sub fresh), unsweetened milk and/or cream of choice
what I did
Dice your onion and sautee over medium heat in a tablespoon or so butter and a splash of olive oil until translucent. Add a few cloves of minced garlic, a pinch of salt, and a bigger pinch of pepper and continue sauteeing until garlic is slightly browned.
Add about 1/4 cup AP flour and sautee for a few minutes until flour is cooked through. Add stock of choice; I used chicken bouillon and boiling water. I honestly didn’t measure, I just filled my dutch oven about halfway. Bring back to a simmer if using cold stock.
Chop a bunch of red potatoes or whatever you have and add them to your pot. I like a pretty big dice, but cut them however you want to eat them. Add more stock or water if needed to just cover the potatoes. Let them simmer until fork tender. I added a big bunch of kale about 8-10 minutes in; I wanted it to soften but not too much.
When the potatoes are fork tender, take a potato masher and mash about half the chowder right in the pot and stir it back together. You could also remove half, blend it in a blender or food processor, and return it to the pot for a creamier chowder, or blend all of it if you want a cream of potato type soup.
Add corn (I used a scoop of frozen corn) and adjust with salt and pepper as needed. Let the corn warm up and add a splash of unsweetened milk and/or cream of choice, I think I used half and half and 2% cow because that’s what we had. I honestly just added enough to bring my chowder to the top of the dutch oven. Let everything meld for a minute and you’re good to go.
Top with any or all: green onions, chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley and cilantro), bacon/veggie bacon, splash of vinegar, lemon juice, seedy crackers, oyster crackers, bread.