Chowder in the Summer

Last night I made a corn and fish chowder that was particularly tasty. Some may think its weird to make a warm soup in the middle of the warm Kentucky summer, but I think its the perfect time to cook the season's sweet sweet corn and fresh seafood.

I started by cooking some strips of pancetta in a large pot. When they were cooked and crispy, I removed them from the pot and left them sitting on a paper towel. I added a diced onion and a couple of minced shallots to the pot with the pancetta fat. Once they softened, I added about a cup and a half to two cups of chicken stock (I would have used seafood stock, but didn't have any on hand), about a cup and a half to two cups of white wine, 7-8 small red potatoes diced into 1/2 inch pieces, and the corn from two ears. This cooked for about 20 minutes. I stirred it occassionally, scraping the bottom to get any brown bits from the pancetta. Next, with the potatoes almost done, I added the fish - 1 lb of cod filets cut into 1-inch pieces. I also salted it just to taste. About 5 minutes later, I stirred in 1/3 cup cream. This cooked for another 2-3 minutes. Then I added about an 1/8 a teaspoon of black pepper and a dash of cayenne. After spooning this into our bowls, I spinkled the pancetta bits and a little fresh parsley on top of each serving. We ate this with some leftover crusty bread to dip into the soup. Even I thought it tasted delicious!