So last night, when trying to decide what to have for dinner, corn chowder came to the top of the list. While I am trying to limit my white potato intake, I decided to make the chowder with sweet potatoes instead of the standard white potato that is the mainstay in chowder recipes. And while configuring this dinner into my pseudo-Paleo diet, I thought I'd make it more interesting by making the chowder vegan. Why not.
After some thought, I decided to try making the chowder with a broth base (I usually make my chowders with more milk and less broth) and stir in dairy free Tofutti sour cream. And it worked perfectly! So Katie, here's a recipe that that will give you creamy flavor in a vegan platform. Enjoy.
Vegan Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder
Cook time: 1 hour Serves 6- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 dice
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 5 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 cups vegetable stock
- 12 oz package of frozen corn
- 12 oz container of Tofutti non-dairy sour cream
- Chopped parsley as a garnish (optional)
Start by heating a dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil and then the onions. Cook for a couple of minutes and add the carrots. Cook for a couple of minutes and add the red and yellow peppers and the salt and pepper.
Cook the vegetables for a total of 15 minutes from the time you added the onions or until softened. Then add the thyme and bay leaves. I like to tie them together into a bouquet garni using kitchen twine as it is easier to fish them out at the end, but feel free to just toss them into the pot.
Now add the sweet potatoes and the broth. The broth should just cover the vegetables, so use less or more depending on your pot dimensions. Stir to combine everything. Now bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for 20 minutes.
Next add the corn and return to a boil over medium high heat and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat (very important) and stir in the non-dairy sour cream and whisk it into the soup. It will turn into a gorgeous creamy color in a minute. Check for final seasoning of salt and pepper as all vegetable stocks vary in this regard.
Ladle into bowls and garish with chopped fresh parsley and serve.
