Corn chowder with zucchini and orzo

Simmering corn and cobs

I have been working on recycling six years of Everyday Food magazines, and since I can’t cook the recipes fast enough, I’ve been pinning them to a “Recipe Pile” board on Pinterest. I’ve made it all the way through July/August and this one caught my eye because I knew there was a cute little round zucchini waiting to become something delicious. Or at least acceptable since delicious is not usually a word I associate with zucchini. It was also nice to see local corn at my Whole Foods already; hopefully that means CSA corn will be arriving soon too!

Corn chowder “topped” with zucchini mixture

Unfortunately this came out a bit thin and bland. I may not have let it thicken enough, but I definitely simmered it for longer than the 8 minutes suggested in the recipe. I usually decrease or omit salt from recipes, but this needed liberal amounts of salt. I attempted to top the chowder with the zucchini mixture, but it kind of fell in and then I just mixed it all together (after the photo). I am still going to take it for lunches this week so I wouldn’t call this a total fail.


Corn chowder with zucchini and orzo
Adapted from Everyday Food, Jul/Aug 2012
Serves: 4

Ingredients
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 cup cooked orzo
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 bunch scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon butter
3 cups corn kernels (from 4 ears), cobs reserved
3 cups water
Salt and pepper

Directions
1. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high. Add zucchini and saute about 4 minutes until crisp-tender. Stir in orzo and heat until warmed through. Transfer to a bowl and toss with scallion greens and basil; season with salt and pepper.

2. Melt butter in saucepan over medium-high. Add scallion whites and saute about 3 minutes until tender. Add 3 cups water and corncobs and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook until chowder thickens slightly, about 8 minutes. Discard cobs and season with salt and pepper.

3. In batches, fill a blender halfway with chowder and puree. Serve chowder topped with zucchini mixture and enjoy!