A creamy Chicken and Corn Chowder with smoky bacon and fortified with pureed vegetables.
A good friend is one who shows up on your door step with a pot of soup when they know you could use a little TLC. I have such friends, which is how I discovered this comforting chicken soup.
My friend, Helen, knew I was sick so she did what we’ve all done—she pulled together a simple concoction of on-hand ingredients and stirred it together in a pot. She apologized for its simplicity when she delivered it, explaining it was what she had, but she wanted to bless me.
The gesture warmed my heart as much as the soup warmed and comforted my aching body and there was certainly no need for her to apologize for its humble origin, every last drop of it was wonderful.
I love the food brings comfort without asking questions or giving advice.
Since it was put together with what she had in her cupboard, there wasn’t a recipe to follow when trying to recreate its magic. The soup recipe you see here maintains the basic ingredients, but has been modified over the years, I’m not sure Helen would even recognize it.
While it loosely resembles her original offering, this recipe still carries her name because it carries with it the spirit in which is was prepared. Helen’s Chicken and Corn Chowder has become a family favorite and is routinely shared with friends in need of comfort.
This is a creamy chicken soup is fortified with pureed vegetables.
When we initially added vegetables, the kids were still young and more resistant to chunks of vegetables, so anything that could turn them off was pureed.
Doing so, thickened the soup and they were better off not knowing they were eating summer squash in every bite. 😉 Of course, you could add any range of vegetables; however, I would recommend vegetables in the reds and yellows and stay away from greens.
Pureeing green into soups most often produces at dull, brownish hue, which doesn’t look quite as appealing.
Have you ever had to hide vegetables in your recipes?
Helen’s Chicken and Corn Chowder is also ideal for freezing, that way you’re always prepared to deliver a meal at a moments notice!
The recipe can be adjusted to accommodate dairy allergies by substituting coconut milk or leaving the cream out all together. Although you may be tempted to substitute the cream with milk or half & half, I would recommend staying with the cream if you intend to freeze the soup.
Milk and half & half tend to separate when frozen, and while it doesn’t change the flavor, it doesn’t retain a pleasing creamy texture when reheated.
A bit of sweet corn, smoky bacon, and tender chicken in creamy homemade broth with accents of fresh thyme is both soothing and tasty. Finish with a splash of cream and chopped purple kale and serve with Sprouted Wheat French Bread to soak up every last nourishing bit in your bowl.
Helen’s Chicken Soup
Helen’s Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 4 pound whole chicken (, cut into 8 pieces)
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 bulb bulb garlic (, roasted)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound bacon (, cut into 1/4 inch strips)
- 1 large onion (, chopped)
- 2 cups finely chopped celery
- 3 quarts chicken broth
- 2 cans Southwest-style* corn (, drained)
- 2 small yellow summer squash (, chopped into large chunks)
- 1/2 cup beef stock (optional)
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tbsps fresh thyme leaves
- 1 cup cream
- 3 cups frozen corn (, defrosted)
- 1/4 cup butter (, optional)
- 1/4 cup sprouted whole wheat flour (, optional [use sweet rice flour for gluten-free])
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil chicken in 4 quarts of water and salt. When cooked through, cool chicken and reserve broth. Broth should be strained and fat separated. Once cooled, remove meat from the bones and tear or shred chicken. Retain bones for making stock or discard.
- Cut top off of garlic bulb so that the majority of the cloves are exposed. Place in a small oven proof dish, pour olive oil over garlic bulb, and roast at 350° for 20-30 minutes. When done, cool garlic until easy to handle and squeeze bottom of bulb to releave cloves.
- Meanwhile, in a large soup pot cook bacon until crispy. Drain on paper towel lined plate and reserve fat.
- In the same pot, saute onion and celery in 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat until onion is translucent and soft. Add 3 quarts of the broth to the pot and reserve the remaining broth to thin the soup, as desired. Bring to a boil and simmer gently 5 minutes.
- Place Mexican-style corn, summer squash, beef bouillon, liquid smoke, dried thyme, and roasted garlic cloves in a blender and puree. Add to soup and simmer 10 minutes to meld flavors. Add chicken, fresh thyme, cream, corn and bacon. Simmer 15 minutes. Salt & pepper to taste.
- I recommend making a roux to thicken and deepen the flavor of the soup, however, it is optional. For the roux: Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a skillet. Add 1/4 cup flour and heat until bubbly, stirring constantly, and continue until it reaches a light caramel color. Remove from heat and stir in 2 cups of the soup. Add to the soup pot and allow to cook an additional 30 minutes.
- Top with chopped kale and serve with rustic bread and butter.
Notes
*Homemade beef bouillon can be made by reducing beef stock or by reserving and freezing the pan drippings from roasted meats.
Adding the roux to this recipe is not required, but does help bring depth to the flavors and creates a heartier soup.
This soup can also be made with leftover roasted chicken and homemade stock.
Nutrition
Phill says
It’s so nice to have friends like Helen and i’m sure she would be happy with your interpretation of her original soup, When our kids were small we also had to find interesting ways to get them to eat veg with varying success.
Barbara Bamber | justasmidgen says
I think Helen is just the sort of friend we all feel blessed to have in our lives. Her humble soup is not so humble, I’d be thrilled to have a pot of this on my stove. I hope all is well for you now? xx
Judy Purcell says
Hi Barb! I am very well, thank you. I am blessed to have friends like Helen in my life, life is sweeter with good friends. 🙂
-h (@taste-buds) says
I have to sneak vegetables in all my dishes for my girlfriend. I’ve discovered that there are a lot of things she likes that she says she doesn’t. Also, I miss having friends that would cook a pot of something when you are sick.
-h
Judy Purcell says
Hi -h, I found that texture had more to do with some of the things they disliked more than taste, so pureeing helped. Yes, caring friends are easy to miss. :/
April @ The 21st Century Housewife says
It’s lovely when someone shares comfort food, especially when we need it most. Helen’s Chicken Soup sounds delicious, and I love the story behind it.
Raymund says
When we were younger my mom used to sneak vegetables into soup. Though its not hiding its hard for the child to remove them as they are cut into very small bits and mixed with chicken bits.
That soup indeed looks healthy and hearty, got to keep this recipe for winter here.
Judy Purcell says
My mom didn’t sneak much, we were expected to eat whatever was put in front of us, which was tough at times. I guess we all do it differently to get veggies into our kids.
Julia | JuliasAlbum.com says
This is a very good looking chicken soup! Love the rustic bread and butter on the side. What a great lunch it would make!
Judy Purcell says
Hi Julia, thanks so much for stopping by and commenting ~ you are right, it is a wonderful lunch and the bread is a must. 🙂
Hotly Spiced says
How lovely to have friends who will deliver a comforting bowl of soup in a time of need – wonderful. I love the look of this and it’s a cold, wet, dreary day here in Sydney and this soup would be fabulous right now. I’m not familiar with Mexican corn. How is it different to canned corn? xx
Judy Purcell says
I’m not sure why they call it Mexi-corn, because it’s simply canned corn kernels with chopped red and green bell pepper mixed in. I’ve seen it in the frozen section of grocery stores too. There have certainly been times I’ve used regular corn and thrown in a red or yellow pepper (I avoid green because it makes the soup brown) instead. When I can find the Mexi-corn, it just means there’s is one less thing to chop, but either way works. 🙂
ChgoJohn says
I think Helen would be proud to see how her soup has evolved but the sentiment behind that original gift has remained unchanged. I don’t think it can get much better, though. Any chicken soup that includes bacon, rasted garlic, and corn kernels is going to be hard to improve. It sounds pretty much perfect to me, Judy.
Judy Purcell says
Thanks John, I think you’re right, she’ll be especially pleased the sentiment remains and is passed on. 🙂
Gourmantine says
You are very fortunate to have friends to come at times most needed, and I believe food prepared with love and care heals best. The soup itself looks great, packed with so much flavor!
Judy Purcell says
I so agree–food prepared with love and care heals best! Good to see you in the comments again, glad you stopped by. 🙂
Jed Gray (sportsglutton) says
Liz and I go back and forth about whether to have a soup chunky or pureed. Often times we’re on opposite side of the equation. Still I’d have this soup either way with the addition of that sweet corn and smoked bacon…it makes me happy. 🙂
Judy Purcell says
It seemed that texture was always a bigger deal to my kids than even flavor, which I guess is why they can eat chicken nuggets by the wagon loads — but it can make a big difference. I’m kinda picky about the texture of squash especially, so the blender eliminates the soggy squash dilemma.
Geni says
I do love how comforting food can be and what a kind gesture it is to offer to anyone in need. This soup looks so unique for chicken soup. I adore the pureed vegetables and can imagine what an added depth of flavor it adds. So glad you share this!
Judy Purcell says
Hi Geni, thanks for stopping by for the soup, I am happy to share it. You are right the pureed veggies add a wonderful depth of flavor. 🙂
[email protected] says
Great looking soup! I, too, often make soup just by putting in a little of this and a little of that. Love all the ingredients in this soup – I’ll bet all that bacon makes it super delish! Really good stuff – thank.
Judy Purcell says
Thanks John. I think soup recipes are more like guidelines offering the general idea, but there’s always room to improvise. 🙂