I know that it is warm and sunny here, but I had to post this chowder. It is not heavy and rich, but is somehow light and fresh and so full of flavor- perfect for the Spring days that are sunny and warm and give way to chilly evenings. Or chilly weekends, like we have coming our way here in Seattle. (Oh mother nature, you are such a tease!)
I actually have lobster on sale at my local grocery store, so I had to take advantage, right? Plus, they killed them for me. I can’t do it. I have never been able to. Have I ever told you that even when I cook clams, I throw them in the pot and run screaming from the room? (There are a lot of unpleasant stories I could tell you from culinary school- I am traumatized).
Uh, I usually prefer to get the already dead lobster tails to be honest with you- but however adventurous you are feeling can dictate how you do this. Shrimp are also a great option is lobster is hard for you to get a hold of. Just try to keep the shells in as large of pieces as possible (like I try to keep them in one piece each) so that they are easy to pull out when you are done cooking the soup.
I found that the sweet potatoes really compliment the natural sweetness of the shellfish and the corn. It’s a really naturally sweet trio of flavors that is just wonderful. But that is also why I like to add a lot of onion and a little heat. Plus there is some added coconut milk for creaminess and a smoothness. Overall, this chowder is out of this world- I totally recommend a big old pot of this for your family this week!
In a large heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, chili, celery and bell pepper to the pot and sweat 7 minutes.
Add the lobster shells or shrimp shells and sweat another 5 minutes.
Add the white wine and stir any caramelized bits up from the bottom of the pot. Add the broth and stir.
Add the sweet potatoes and the water and red pepper.
Add the green onions.
Add the fresh corn and add the lid to the pot. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
Add the coconut milk to the soup and simmer another 5 minutes. Remove the shells from the pot.
Using a stick blender, puree just for a few pulses, so that you maybe roughly puree about 1/4 of the soup- just enough to add some smoother texture to the soup.
Season to taste with kosher salt.
Add the lobster meat, cut into bite sized pieces, or the shrimp and cook for a few minutes until the meat has just turned pinkish and opaque.
Garnish with fresh chives and serve hot.
Recipe: Corn, Sweet Potato and Lobster Chowder
Ingredients
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 red chili, minced
- 8 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 1 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 cup white wine
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 6 ears fresh corn
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and finely chopped
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 5 green onions, finely sliced
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup coconut milk
- chives for garnish
- 2 lobster (OR 1 pound shrimp in shells). Remove the meat and reserve the shells.
Instructions
- In a large heavy pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, chili, celery and bell pepper to the pot and sweat 7 minutes.
- Add the lobster shells or shrimp shells and sweat another 5 minutes.
- Add the white wine and stir any caramelized bits up from the bottom of the pot. Add the broth and stir.
- Add the sweet potatoes and the water and red pepper.
- Add the green onions.
- Add the fresh corn and add the lid to the pot. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
- Add the coconut milk to the soup and simmer another 5 minutes. Remove the shells from the pot.
- Using a stick blender, puree just for a few pulses, so that you maybe roughly puree about 1/4 of the soup- just enough to add some smoother texture to the soup.
- Season to taste with kosher salt.
- Add the lobster meat, cut into bite sized pieces, or the shrimp and cook for a few minutes until the meat has just turned pinkish and opaque.
- Garnish with fresh chives and serve hot.
Preparation time: 20 minute(s)
Cooking time: 45 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 8
Spectacular! I love the colors, the textures, and can only imagine how much flavor it has. Pinned!
Thank you Averie!!
Love EVERYTHING about this! Gorgeous color!!
Thank you so much Marie!
Yum! Very clever, Heather, to pair the sweet potatoes with shellfish!
Oh yay a Kelley! Thank you! (it is deliciously sweet!)
Love the colors! Great chowder recipe!
Anytime is a good time for this chowder!! It looks so amazing!
I love a good chowder! You’re totally right – this is the best soup weather. It’s raining here again.
Ooooh yuck Aimee- it is 80 today, but 60 and raining all weekend here 🙁
Now that is one taste lobster chowder!
This looks so good! Does the coconut milk add a coconut flavor?
I enjoy your blog so much!
I just made your lemon blueberry buttermilk cake- one for Mother’s Day and it was so delicious! I also made another one as a gift for a neighbor- it’s beautiful and delicious.
Thank you so much Angela! I did not find that the coconut milk left a lot of coconut flavor- it mostly just added a little creaminess and fat that would have otherwise come from milk or cream. The other flavors were so strong that it was very subtle.
Those colors — !! This is gorgeous, and sounds so good. The chilly Northwest evenings mixed with highs in the mid-80s are making me feel crazy! But, so nice to have breaks from the day’s heat. I guess the rain is schedule to return soon, anyway 🙂 Lovely chowder, must try!
Such a gorgeous chowder, love all the vibrant colors!
I tell ya what…..it’s still winter here in CO. I sooooo crave this for dinner!!
This is beyond gorgeous, Heather!! The flavors are too die for and it is freezing here, so chowder is goood!
Currently, lobsters are on sale here for $6.99/lb. Not the cheapest it’s been ($3.99) but it’s still low enough that it feels like a no-brainer. Love everything about this chowder. Perfect for one of these cooler spring nights we’ve been having.
I have never tried lobster before, but I am definitely craving this right now!
This seriously looks like the most flavorful soup I have ever seen. Amazing!
I made this and it was DELICIOUS! I used a hand immersion blender, used 1/2 of the red pepper (it was still spicy) and also added 1/2 pound of shrimp. My family loved it – thanks for sharing!
Quick question- did you pre-cook the lobster? In the photos it looks like the lobster shells have been steamed/boiled at least partially, but the instructions say to add the meat until it is just cooked. I’m inclined to steam the lobster first and then add the meat at the very end, is that what you recommend?
Fal- you can absolutely do either way- I have done it both ways and it works well.
Thanks! Planning to cook it this week; looks like it plays well with variations so am definitely excited~ love those recipes that you can put in a bit of whatever you have and enjoy!
Hi there!
How much is a head of celery? Also, should I cook the lobster, then remove the tail meat, claws, and legs and then use the rest as the “Shell” in the beginning? One more question…what brand coconut milk did you use?
Thanks!!
Lauren- great questions. I changed the instructions to 8 celery stalks. (a head would be the whole celery head that you buy at the store- but it is roughly 8 stalks. You can cook the lobster first if you want, but I typically try to remove the meat raw. Sometimes the fish monger will just steam it enough to make it easy for the meat to pull out of the shells (and then set it aside. I think it is hard to wrong with whatever technique you are comfortable with for this. I prefer Trader Joes unsweetened coconut milk or a can of unsweetened coconut milk. If you want dot be really decadent you could add a can of coconut cream (sold at Trader Joes). Hope you enjoy this!
Just made this last night- amazing recipe – many thanks! So hard to find tasty recipes that are dairy free and still have that… richness? I put my can of coconut milk in the fridge to separate out the creamier stuff and then used the top cream instead- made it so rich! I actually forgot the step where you puree’ part of it before adding the lobster- still great though! Thanks for this! (also had to use 3 cherry peppers instead of a red chili- couldn’t find one in my grocery store)
Josh loves lobster he would definitely be happy if I made this for him!