Choose corn with bright-green husks, firm kernels and no blemishes.
Several cultures make their own version of chicken and corn soup. South America has sopa de maiz de pollo, Italy offers zuppa di pollo mais, and the American Southwest bridges the gap between Latin American and American cuisine with chicken and corn chowder. Although the ingredients and seasoning options vary among regions, all versions contain corn and chicken and use chicken broth as the base. Chicken and corn soup has a delicious, yet somewhat neutral, taste that successfully takes on the flavors of various aromatic ingredients, most notably thyme, rosemary and sage.
Instructions
1. Place one stew chicken in a stockpot, cover with water and place over medium heat.
2. Cook the chicken for one hour. Cut a 6-inch square of cheesecloth and place five black peppercorns, one whole garlic clove, California bay leaf and five parsley stems in the center. Bring the corners together, tie with kitchen twine and place in the pot with the chicken.
3. Add one large, diced carrot; one diced, white onion; and two diced celery stalks to the stockpot and continue cooking for 40 minutes. Skim the foam from the surface as needed with a spoon.
4. Strain the broth and discard the chicken, cheesecloth-wrapped spices and bay leaf. Transfer the broth to a saucepan and place over medium heat. Cut the kernels from the corn and extract the liquid from the cobs by scraping them with the unsharpened side of the blade of a chef's knife.
5. Cut the corn cobs in half and place them in a saucepan. Add three bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts to the pan with the corn, cover with water and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the corn cobs and pour the corn stock in the saucepan with the chicken broth.
6. Heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat for three minutes. Saute two stalks of diced celery and one large, diced white onion until golden-brown. Add one finely minced garlic clove and continue cooking until fragrant (approximately three minutes). Add the vegetables, garlic, 1 tbsp. of chopped fresh sage, 1/2 tbsp. of chopped, fresh thyme and 1/2 tbsp. of chopped, fresh rosemary to the broth and simmer until the celery is tender (approximately 15 minutes).
7. Season the soup to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove the skin and bone from the chicken and shred into strips. Add the chicken to the soup, adjust the seasoning as needed and finish with 1 tbsp. of chopped fresh parsley.
Tags: chopped fresh, tbsp chopped, tbsp chopped fresh, with chicken, chicken broth, chicken corn
