Corn and Yellow Beets Chowder

When I visited the U Street Farmer's Market last Saturday, I realized I had neglected certain kinds of beets. I thought about only red beets when I have been developing the beet recipes these last few weeks.

The yellow beets that I got from the market actually have a white fresh inside and tasted similar to a radish. They are very mild and do not have the strong color properties that is one of the factors that many beet-haters dislike.

With the fresh corn that I also got from the market, I turned the yellow beets into a chowder.

I succeeded first in the sense that my husband did not even notice the beets in the chowder. The soup was great and the beets worked well, but frankly I should have tried to cook the beets separately as well in order to showcase their flavor more.

Instead of using butter and milk to make the roux, I used olive oil and chicken stock to make the chowder a little lighter and less thicker. But I used bacon fat too so it still had great flavor.

Here is the recipe.

Corn and Yellow Beets Chowder

Yield 4 - 5 servings

Ingredients

4 slices bacon ..... cut in small pieces
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic ..... minced
1 shallot ..... minced
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 qt chicken stock
1 cup water
1 russet potato ..... peel and diced into cubes
2 medium yellow beets ..... peel and diced in to cubes
Corn kernels from 3 ears of corns. Reserve the corn cobs (cut in half)
Chives

Method

1. Cook the bacon in a large soup pot until it is crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and reserve the oil in the pan.

2. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil in the pan and saute shallots and garlic for a few minutes.

3. Add flour, salt, pepper and cook for a few more minutes.

4. Pour the chicken stock and water in the pan and wisk well until all the flour is disolved. Add corn cobs in the pan and simmer for 15 minutes.

5. Add potato and beets and cook until they are soft. Remove the corn cobs.

6. Add corn kernels and cook for another 5 minutes

7. Test the taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

8. Plate in a bowl and garnish with bacon bits and chopped chives on top.