Vegetarian slow cooker corn chowder
Servings: 4
If you're still looking for ways to spark joy with the curry powder in your pantry, then err on the side of this slow cooker corn chowder. It's sure to make you smile and fill your belly with its gluten-free gloopiness. I love how low fuss this is — right down to not needing to peel the spuds. Once they're cooked, you can just go back in and the skins will slip right off… Ready to be turned into crispy bits of spuddy snap-crackle on top with a little time and a shallow fry! There's plenty of flavour in the potato skins, as there is in the cobs of corn that often end up in the compost before they're fully utilised. We treat ours as chef-snacks, gnawing on the nubs of cornflesh left over, then popping the gnarled cobs into stock — or back in with the kernels for soups like this.
10 minutes
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Ingredients
- 1-2 leeks thinly sliced
- 2 celery stalks thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tbsp salt flakes plus extra to taste
- 3 cups corn kernels cobs reserved, see tips for using frozen
- 6 medium-sized mashing potatoes scrubbed and halved, see tips
- 3-4 garlic cloves bruised and peeled
- Thumb's worth of fresh ginger roughly chopped (optional)
- 500 ml (2 cups) vegetable stock, see tips
- 200 ml coconut cream see tips
- Juice of half a lime
Snappy-crackly-skin garnish
- 2 tbsp coconut oil for frying optional
- Salt flakes
Instructions
- The night before (or at least half an hour) pop the sliced leeks and celery into a salad spinner or bowl filled with cold water. Give them a swish. If using a bowl, scoop the vegetables out rather than pouring out water. If using spinner, lift out the bowl. Drain.
- Pop coconut oil and sliced leek into the slow cooker and turn it on to your preferred temp (if cooking high, you'll have 4–6 hours, if cooking low, 8–10 hours is plenty).
- Once the slow cooker is at temperature, add the rest of your ingredients (except for the coconut cream), splash in another 1 litre of water and close the lid. Off you go to work or play.
- When the cooker makes its noise of choice, check that your potatoes are fork-tender, then switch off. Fish out the cobs (if using) and the spuds. Slip the skins off the potatoes, then return the flesh and any other hop-on veg back to the pot. Scoop out a cupful of liquid. Pour the rest of it into a pot. Add coconut cream. Use an immersion stick blender (or food processor if need be) to blitz the soup to your desired chunky yet chowdery consistency. If you'd prefer your chowder a little runnier, pour in a little liquid back at a time until there's a smile on your dial. Squeeze in lime juice and season to taste.
- Meanwhile, if snappy-crackling, heat a small pan with 2 heaping tablespoons of coconut oil. Pat the potato skins dry, tear into smaller strips, then fry in the oil until crispy. Drain on kitchen towel and season with salt flakes while still hot.
- To serve, spoon into soup bowls and top with snappy-crackling if using, or a drizzle of the dregs from the coconut cream container if not.
