Vegetarian Corn Chowder with Chipotle Cheese Dumplings

Good day, Good day.  We’ve got some serious wind and snow raging outside this weekend, so we are keeping warm with this vegetarian corn chowder.  Oh, and we’ve got some fun dough boys (dumplings) as well.  They’ve got heat, smoke and cheesiness.  Oh my.

This is a stick to your ribs kind of meal.  In fact, Josh may have just broke a plastic ladle trying to get some leftovers out of the pot.  But trust us, it’s worth it.  Maybe just use metal or wooden spoons?

We wanted to add a little Newfoundland spin to the chowder, so we added some carnation milk, but it tastes great without it as well.  Then there’s the dough boys, which we’ve doctored to bump up the protein and the flavour.  Since it’s winter, we used frozen vegetables to make this do-able, even when your grocery store produce aisles are looking a bit sad.

The chowder is vegetarian, but can easily be made vegan without the dumplings and by omitting the carnation milk.  We’ve had it without the milk, and that’s actually how Josh prefers it.  The choice is yours!

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Vegetarian Corn Chowder and Chipotle Cheese Dumplings

SaltwaterDaughters
An easy corn chowder to fill you up on cold winters nights.  We've adapted this to use frozen vegetables since not much is in season right now.  Feel free to substitute with fresh corn if you have access to it.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Course Lunch
Cuisine Asian
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

For the Corn Chowder

  • 3 cups corn frozen or fresh
  • 3 large russet potatoes peeled and chopped small
  • 1 large onion peeled and chopped small
  • 3 large garlic cloves minced
  • 3/4 cup edamame frozen
  • 1 large red or orange pepper diced
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 5 cups vegetable broth salt free
  • 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
  • 2 tsp evaporated milk per serving (optional)

For the Dumplings

  • 3/4 cups cottage cheese
  • 2 individual chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 3 tbsp butter melted
  • 1 1/2 cups flour all purpose
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 cup cheddar cheese grated and chopped
  • 2 tbsp chives minced

Instructions
 

For the Corn Chowder

  • Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-low heat.  Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, or until soft.  Add the garlic and spices, and cook for 1 minute.
  • Add the potatoes and vegetable broth and cook until potatoes are just tender, but still hold their shape.  Add the corn and cook for 2 minutes.  Remove the bay leaves, and blend half of the soup in a blender.  Return to pot, with peppers and edamame and bring to a simmer.
  • If you aren't adding the dumplings, cook for 4 minutes or until edamame is cooked.  If using, stir in the evaporated milk right before serving.
  • If making dumplings, add them right after the soup has returned to a simmer.  Add the dough in heaping tablespoons. Cover pot and leave undisturbed for 15 minutes.  Lift a dumpling and if the bottom isn't cooked, leave covered for another 5 minutes.  Serve topped with fresh parsley or chives.

For the Dumplings

  • Mix flour, salt, baking powder and soda together until well combined.  Stir in cheddar cheese and chives to flour mixture.
  • In a blender, add the cottage cheese, chipotle chilies, and milk and blend until smooth.
  • Add the cottage cheese mixture and melted butter to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined to form a sticky dough.  If mixture is too dry add additional milk, one tbsp at a time.
Keyword cheddar, chowder, corn, cottage cheese, dough boys, dumplings, edamame, soup, stew, vegan, vegeterian, winter

The recipe is credited to Nicole and Katherine – The former owner of SaltwaterDaughter.com.