ELEGANT CORN CHOWDER
WITH GOLDEN BEETS AND FENNEL

Vegan and Gluten-Free
Preparation Time: About 1 hour active
Serves 4 to 6

 As always, I encourage readers to buy organic vegetables including organic corn. However, sweet corn is on the “The Clean Fifteen” list of fruits and vegetables that have “the lowest amounts of pesticide residues, according to the Environmental Working Group’s analysis of the most recent USDA data.” 

3 medium golden beets
2 fennel bulbs with stalks
1 large leek bulb plus an inch of the light-green shank
2 tablespoons coconut oil
4 cups Easy Vegetable Soup Stock 
3 tablespoons coconut flour
1 cup green cabbage
1 large yellow crookneck squash
4 ears sweet corn on the cob
1 cup chopped cilantro or ¼ to ½ cup chopped fresh dill
2 mint leaves
1 to 2 cups high fat coconut milk
1 heaping tablespoon white miso
½ to 1 teaspoon mineral salt
Dash black pepper (optional)

Cook’s Tip: 1. The coconut flour is used as a thickener for the chowder. If you like thinner soup, try 2 tablespoons flour and more coconut milk, as needed. 2. Save time by roasting or steaming beets earlier in the day. 3. I prefer to steam beets in summer rather than run a hot oven for 1 hour or longer.

1. Prepare the beets: scrub the roots and trim off the greens, leaving a couple of inches of the stems. To steam the beets in an Instant Pot: place a steamer basket in the pot with 4 cups of water. Set on steam with low pressure for 10 to 12 minutes. Let the pressure be released naturally. To steam the beets in a standard pot with a steamer basket be sure to have enough water to cook the beets until you can easily pierce them with a fork—at least 30 minutes with the lid on. Whichever way you cook the beets, once they’re done, remove them from the pot and, when they’re cool enough to handle, rub the skins off with your fingers. Cut the beets into bite-sized pieces and set them aside.

2. Wash and slice the leek. Prepare the fennel by removing the fronds (which you can save for salads or soup stock). Cut off the fennel stalks and slice them thinly, like celery. Use the tip of a knife to cut out the hard core of the bulb, then slice the fennel bulbs and halve those slices.

3. Heat the coconut oil in a soup pot (at least 4 quarts in size) on medium heat and have stock nearby so it’s ready to pour. Once the oil melts, sauté the leek until it’s golden. Stir in the coconut flour. Then, start adding the stock immediately, one cup at a time. Whisk after each addition of stock, to get rid of any lumps in the thickening stock mixture.

4. Add the chopped fennel and stalks to the pot and let the stock come to a boil. At that point, reduce the heat to medium low and let the soup simmer.

5. While the fennel is cooking, chop a few leaves of the cabbage into bite-sized pieces and add cabbage to the pot.

6. Slice the squash into thin rounds, quartering the larger rounds. Cut the corn kernels off the cobs. Chop the cilantro or dill. Remove the mint leaves from their stems, and chiffonade the leaves—stacking them together, rolling them, and cutting them into thin strips. Set all of this aside.

7. Once the fennel is tender (after about 15 to 20 minutes of simmering), purée the soup with an immersion blender. Then, add the squash and corn with 1 cup of coconut milk and simmer for another 5 minutes. Finish the soup by adding the herbs and beets. If you like thinner chowder, add more coconut milk. Turn off the burner, add the miso (which is salty), and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve the chowder immediately or let it cool to room temperature.

Ayurvedic Note: Corn can increase vata, which is mitigated by cooking and balanced by the heaviness of the beets. Cabbage will also increase vata, but this is such a small quantity it’s not concerning. Cooked fennel is good for all doshas. Coconut milk is excellent for vata and pitta but increases kapha.