This weekend for the Northeast was a bit of a bummer- it rained all day both Saturday and Sunday. A great welcome to June- thanks summer gods. Is it just me or does it seem like if Monday-Friday is 75 degrees and sunny it is almost a guarantee that the weekend is going to poop out?!
So Lame.
Well to pass the time I tried out a new soup recipe that I think will be a great summer treat but won't tack on the pounds. Here in Boston, there is always a corn or clam chowder on a seaside menu. I love cream based soups, but sadly my butt does not. Sorry, but short shorts are not as cute with a muffin top :(
So here is my spin on a chowder what will give you a your daily dose of veggies and still fill your tummy up gooooood.
Light Veggie and Chorizo Chowda
Ingredients:
1 bag cauliflower
1 bag brussel sprouts
2 ears of fresh corm
3 cups chicken stock
2 cups fat free milk
2 Tbs fat free sour cream
3 chicken chorizo sausage links
2 small onions
2 Tbs cumin
1tsp. red pepper flakes
3 Tbs olive oil
salt & pepper
This sounds a little complicated because there is roasting, sauteing, and blending involved, but I swear it was not hard at all. I was able to make this from start to finish in one hour and that was when I could pry myself away from Joey's (ok maybe my) guilty pleasure show Wicked Tuna. Who knew a tuna was HUGE!! Like bigger than a dolphin huge- so insane!
Anyway, the first step is to give the brussel sprouts and cauliflower a very rough chop to get ready for roasting. While you are doing this, preheat the oven to 425 degrees and move the rack to the highest spot.
Put them on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Let those roast for about 15 minutes our until they get a nice color to them.
While those are cooking, chop up the onions and toss those in a pot with tablespoon of olive oil. Saute until soft and then add the cumin powder, red pepper flakes, and a little salt and pepper.
I still had about 5 more minutes before the veggies were done roasting so I diced up my chicken chorizo and put it in a small saute pan to heat up. They are precooked so I really just needed to brown them up a bit. I also took the corn off the cob to put in to the soup towards the end.
Veggies were looking nice and roasted!
Transfer the roasted veggies in the into the pot with the onions and then pour in the chicken stock and milk. Let that simmer for about 10 minutes just so the flavors fuse together.
Now it time to blend! Pour the soup mixture into a blender (you may have to do this in two batches because no one wants a blender volcano) and hit the pulse button until it is smooth.
At this point you can add in a little bit of chicken stock if your soup seems a little thick. I think I added in about another 1/2 cup once it was all blended to thin it a bit. I also added a dollop of fat free sour cream just for the heck of it.
Finally (yes, you are almost there!), put in the fresh corn and the chicken chorizo. You can save a little chorizo for a garnish as well.
At last- time to eat!
This was so tasty and remarkably filling for having almost no fat in it. The blended veggies gave the soup that thickness that cream or even a potato would give without any of the cals! Since it was a healthy alternative I didn't feel bad about serving it with a nice hunk of fresh bread.
This is a great treat for a rainy day and totally satisfies that New England Chowda craving :)
XOXO Katie
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delish!!
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